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A SERVICE OF EVENING PRAYER
Even Here: Courage in the Wilderness
February 18, 2021
Prelude I Want Jesus to Walk with Me ELW 325
Restore in Us, O God ELW 328
Welcome
Dialogue
Ashes have been smeared and sins have been confessed…
We follow our faithful Lord.
These times, they are troubling. This journey, it is hard…
We follow our faithful Lord.
It is God who sustains, not the temptations of this world…
We follow our faithful Lord.
In the Lord is our trust, our protection from harm…
We follow our faithful Lord.
Come, let us worship the One whom we serve…
We follow our faithful Lord.
By Stephen Fearing, posted on Wild and Precious Life. http://www.stephenmfearing.com
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
Amen.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Gracious God,
have mercy on us. We confess that we have turned from you and given ourselves into the power of sin. We are truly sorry and humbly repent. In your compassion forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things we have done and things we have failed to do. Turn us again to you, and uphold us by your Spirit, so that we may live and serve you in newness of life through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. In the name of + Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
Amen.
Collect
God, we come with hesitant steps and uncertain motives to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated, and uncover the ways we have strayed from your truth. Expose the empty and barren places where we don’t allow you to enter. Reveal our half-hearted struggles where we have been indifferent to the suffering of others. Nurture the faint stirrings of new life, where your spirit has begun to grow. Let your healing light transform us into the image of your Son. For you alone can bring new life and make us whole. Amen.
By Christine Sine. https://godspacelight.com/2019/03/04/we-come-with-hesitant-steps/
Psalm 32
1Blessed are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2Blessed are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Selah
5Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
7You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Selah
8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
10Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
Psalm 25
1To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
3Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
5Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
6Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness' sake, O LORD!
8Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11For your name's sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12Who are they that fear the LORD?
He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13They will abide in prosperity,
and their children shall possess the land.
14The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes his covenant known to them.
15My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me out of my distress.
18Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20O guard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
22Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all its troubles.
Reading Mark 1:9-15
9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news."
Reflection
Response
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.
Offering Prayer
Faithful God, you walk beside us in desert places, and you meet us in our hunger with. abundant provision from your gracious hand. Accompany us in this journey that we may pass over from death to life, through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Reading “You Don’t Know Me But” by Laura Grace Weldon
You don’t know me, but
I miss you, fellow walkers – dad with the double stroller
Rainbow legging woman, earnest black hound hauling
Graybeard man on a never-slack leash.
I miss the check-out clerk with three nose rings,
Bitten nails, sardonic asides.
Miss the librarian whose voice is soft as my mother’s was
Back when I sobbed myself weak, her hand
Stroking my hair while she looked out the window.
Wherever you are not, I wish you well. Cas light around you
Each night before sleep. I want your granny to pull through,
Your job to stick around, your landlord to grant you
Every dispensation. I want flowers
To sprout in your garbage, old milk to turn into yogurt.
May your junk mail transform into loans forgiven,
Scholarships granted, grievances forgotten.
May we see each other soon, smile n recognition,
Reimagine a world where we all breathe free.
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come 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
Let us pray. At times Lord, it feels like we are in a wilderness – a wilderness of fear, of aloneness, of despair, of malaise. Send your angels to be with us, Lord Jesus, to give us hope. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
We hold fast to so many things of this world, to our possessions, to our desires, even to our clutter. Give us grace that. We may loosen our grasp of that which encumbers us. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
At times we are driven by appetites and yearnings that lead us to take more than we need, more than we can use. Teach us that in letting go, we become more open to you and your will for us. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
With your light, lead us from the wilderness that surrounds us into an awareness of the communion of saints accompanying us on our Lenten journey. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
During this time of Lent, strengthen us as we practice prayer, discipline and generosity. Help us when we are weak and fail. Sustain us with the power of your Holy Spirit. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
These and all other things that you know we need whether expressed aloud on our lips or in the quietness of our hearts we entrust to your gracious care, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen
Charge & Benediction
May our healing God be with you today and in all your tomorrows.
May we feel God’s presence as we travel this journey.
May your gestures of kindness be well-received by those on your path.
May our anxieties be stilled.
May your aloneness be. Sacrificial gift to others.
May our grief be heard.
Even here
Even here.
May the love of God abide
Within your home
And within the hearts
Of all who dwell inside.
God be with you until we meet again.
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Postlude Bless Now, O God, the Journey ELW 326
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me Text: African American spiritual Music: African American spiritual; arr. hymnal version, Arr © 2006 Augsburg Fortresss;Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved.
Restore in Us, O God Text: Carl P. Daw Jr., b. 1944 Music: Hal H. Hopson, b. 1933. Text © 1989 Hope Publishing Company, Music © 1985 Hope Publishing Company, Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved.
Bless Now, O God, the Journey Text: Sylvia G. Dunstan, 1955-1993. Text © 1991 GIA Publications, Inc., Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274. All rights reserved. Music: Welsh tune, 19th cent. Public Domain.
