Monday evening March 13

Tuesday evening
Sunday evening

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

Hear our voice, Lord, according to your faithful love,
according to your judgment give us life.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence,
that freed from the misery of sin and shame
we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Father, By Saints on Earth Adored

Charles Wesley

Father, by saints on earth adored,
By saints beyond the skies
Accept through Jesus Christ our Lord
Our evening sacrifice

If kept today from willful sin
We magnify thy grace:
Thou hast our kind preserver been,
And thine be all the praise

We live to testify the grace
Which sure salvation brings;
And sink tonight in thine embrace,
And rest beneath thy wings

But whether, Lord, we wake or sleep,
(The charge of love divine)
We trust thy providence to keep
Our souls forever thine

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 
and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, 
with all your being, with all your mind, 
and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,
in our sin we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 70

Refrain:
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.

Hurry, God, to deliver me;
    hurry, Lord, to help me!
Let those who seek my life be ashamed and humiliated!
    Let them fall back and be disgraced—
        those people who delight in my downfall!
Let those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
    stop because of their shameful behavior.
But let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you,
    and let those who love your saving help say again and again:
        “God is great!”
But me? I’m poor and needy.
    Hurry to me, God!
You are my helper and my deliverer.
    Oh, Lord, don’t delay!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.

Psalm prayer

O God, our helper and defender,
deliver us in our weakness,
answer our longings
and vindicate our faith,
that we may see your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 74

God, why have you abandoned us forever?
    Why does your anger smolder
    at the sheep of your own pasture?
Remember your congregation
    that you took as your own long ago,
    that you redeemed to be the tribe of your own possession—
    remember Mount Zion, where you dwell.
March to the unending ruins,
    to all that the enemy destroyed in the sanctuary.
Your enemies roared in your own meeting place;
    they set up their own signs there!
It looked like axes raised
    against a thicket of trees.
And then all its carvings
    they hacked down with hatchet and pick.
They set fire to your sanctuary, burned it to the ground;
    they defiled the dwelling place of your name.
They said in their hearts, We’ll kill all of them together!
    They burned all of God’s meeting places in the land.
We don’t see our own signs anymore.
    No prophet is left.
        And none of us know how long it will last.
How long, God, will foes insult you?
    Are enemies going to abuse your name forever?
Why do you pull your hand back?
    Why do you hold your strong hand close to your chest?
Yet God has been my king from ancient days—
    God, who makes salvation happen in the heart of the earth!
        You split the sea with your power.
        You shattered the heads of the sea monsters on the water.
        You crushed Leviathan’s heads.
        You gave it to the desert dwellers for food!
        You split open springs and streams;
        you made strong-flowing rivers dry right up.
        The day belongs to you! The night too!
        You established both the moon and the sun.
        You set all the boundaries of the earth in place.
        Summer and winter? You made them!
So remember this, Lord:
    how enemies have insulted you,
    how unbelieving fools have abused your name.
Don’t deliver the life of your dove to wild animals!
    Don’t forget the lives of your afflicted people forever!
Consider the covenant!
    Because the land’s dark places are full of violence.
Don’t let the oppressed live in shame.
    No, let the poor and needy praise your name!
God, rise up! Make your case!
    Remember how unbelieving fools insult you all day long.
Don’t forget the voices of your enemies,
    the racket of your adversaries that never quits.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Psalm prayer

Redeeming God,
renew your broken people
with your Holy Spirit,
that they may walk your narrow way,
and greet your coming dawn
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Genesis 43:16-34

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager of his household, “Bring the men to the house and slaughter an animal and prepare it because the men will have dinner with me at noon.” The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house.

When they were brought to Joseph’s house, the men were frightened and said, “We’ve been brought here because of the silver put back in our sacks on our first trip so he can overpower us, capture us, make slaves of us, and take our donkeys.”

They approached the man who was Joseph’s household manager and spoke to him at the house’s entrance: “Please, Master, we came down the first time just to buy food, but when we stopped to spend the night and opened our sacks, there was the exact amount of each man’s silver at the top of his sack. We’ve brought it back with us, and we’ve brought down with us additional silver to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”

He said, “You are fine. Don’t be afraid. Your God and your father’s God must have hidden a treasure in your sacks. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

The manager brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water to wash their feet and feed for their donkeys. They prepared the gift, anticipating Joseph’s arrival at noon, since they had heard that they would have a meal there. When Joseph came into the house, they presented him the gift they had brought with them into the house, and they bowed low in front of him. He asked them how they were and said, “How is your elderly father, about whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

They said, “Your servant our father is fine. He’s still alive.” And they bowed down again with deep respect.

Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, and he said, “Is this your youngest brother whom you told me about? God be gracious to you, my son.” Joseph’s feelings for his brother were so strong he was about to weep, so he rushed to another room and wept there. He washed his face, came back, pulled himself together, and said, “Set out the dinner.” So they set out his food by himself, their food by themselves, and the Egyptians’ who ate with him by themselves because Egyptians don’t allow themselves to eat with Hebrews; the Egyptians think it beneath their dignity. They were seated in front of him from the oldest to the youngest in their exact birth order, and the men looked at each other with amazement. Portions of food from Joseph’s table were brought to them, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as large as theirs. So they drank together and were at ease.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Hebrews 1:1-14

In the past, God spoke through the prophets to our ancestors in many times and many ways. In these final days, though, he spoke to us through a Son. God made his Son the heir of everything and created the world through him. The Son is the light of God’s glory and the imprint of God’s being. He maintains everything with his powerful message. After he carried out the cleansing of people from their sins, he sat down at the right side of the highest majesty. And the Son became so much greater than the other messengers, such as angels, that he received a more important title than theirs.

After all, when did God ever say to any of the angels:

You are my Son.
        Today I have become your Father?

Or, even,

I will be his Father,
        and he will be my Son?

But then, when he brought his firstborn into the world, he said,

All of God’s angels must worship him.

He talks about the angels:

He’s the one who uses the spirits for his messengers
        and who uses flames of fire as ministers.

But he says to his Son,

God, your throne is forever
        and your kingdom’s scepter is a rod of justice.
You loved righteousness and hated lawless behavior.
        That is why God, your God,
        has anointed you with oil instead of your companions.

And he says,

You, Lord, laid the earth’s foundations in the beginning,
        and the heavens are made by your hands.
They will pass away,
        but you remain.
They will all wear out like old clothes.
        You will fold them up like a coat.
They will be changed like a person changes clothes,
        but you stay the same,
        and the years of your life won’t come to an end.

When has he ever said to any of the angels,

Sit at my right side
        until I put your enemies under your feet like a footstool?

Aren’t all the angels ministering spirits who are sent to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy, 
just as he promised to our ancestors, 
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads. 

Response

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,
that they may return to the way of righteousness:
grant to all those who are admitted
   into the fellowship of Christ’s religion,
that they may reject those things
   that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.