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A SERVICE OF EVENING PRAYER

Even Here: Even Today
February 25, 2021

Prelude      Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling    ELW 608

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me.
See, on the portals he's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.

Refrain
"Come home, (Come home,)
come home! (come home!)
You who are weary, come home."
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, "O sinner, come home!"

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me?   Refrain

Oh, for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.   Refrain

                  Word of God, Come Down on Earth (vs. 1,3)    ELW 510

Word of God, come down on earth,
living rain from heav'n descending;
touch our hearts and bring to birth
faith and hope and love unending.
Word almighty, we revere you;
Word made flesh, we long to hear you.

Word that speaks God's tender love,
one with God beyond all telling,
Word that sends us from above
God the Spirit, with us dwelling,
Word of truth, to all truth lead us;
Word of life, with one bread feed us.

Welcome

Dialogue

Lent calls us to journey, this and every day, following Jesus wherever he leads us.
Lent calls us to journey: to the place where God covenants with us, to receive the new names we are given.
Lent calls us to worship together, to tell future generations the good news.
Lent calls us to practice justice, to bring God’s hope to all people.
Lent calls us to faithful living, to trust the One who gives us life.
Lent calls each of us to take up our cross, to trust the One who bears it with us.
Lent calls us to journey with God.
Let us worship God, who walks with us, this and every day.
          By Thom Shuman, from Lectionary Liturgies, http://lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.co/

Confession and Forgiveness 

Collect

Light-giving, salvation-making God, we have staked our living and our dying and our being raised to new life on your steadfast love and faithfulness.
You have promised to hide us in your shelter in the day of trouble.
You have promised to set us high on a rock, above those powers and forces that batter us, that tempt us, that work against us.
We have sought your presence, listening for your Word:
your Word that gives life; your Word that heals the wounded heart; your Word that speaks truth.
Teach us your Way, O Lord Jesus.
Find us, even here.
Lead us on a well-lighted path.
          adapted by Kate Penney Howard from a prayer by Christine Jerrett. https://christinejerrett.wordpress.com/ 

Psalm 77

¹I cry aloud to God,
 aloud to God, that he may hear me.
 ²In the day of my trouble I seek the LORD;
 in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
 my soul refuses to be comforted.
 ³I think of God, and I moan;
 I meditate, and my spirit faints.
Selah
 ⁴You keep my eyelids from closing;
 I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
 ⁵I consider the days of old,
 and remember the years of long ago.
 ⁶I commune with my heart in the night;
 I meditate and search my spirit:
 ⁷"Will the LORD spurn forever,
 and never again be favorable?
 ⁸Has his steadfast love ceased forever?
 Are his promises at an end for all time?
 ⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious?
 Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"
Selah
 ¹⁰And I say, "It is my grief
 that the right hand of the Most High has changed."
 ¹¹I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD;
 I will remember your wonders of old.
 ¹²I will meditate on all your work,
 and muse on your mighty deeds.
 ¹³Your way, O God, is holy.
 What god is so great as our God?
 ¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
 you have displayed your might among the peoples.
 ¹⁵With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
 the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
 ¹⁶When the waters saw you, O God,
 when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
 the very deep trembled.
 ¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
 the skies thundered;
 your arrows flashed on every side.
 ¹⁸The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
 your lightnings lit up the world;
 the earth trembled and shook.
 ¹⁹Your way was through the sea,
 your path, through the mighty waters;
 yet your footprints were unseen.
 ²⁰You led your people like a flock
 by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Psalm 81

 ¹Sing aloud to God our strength;
 shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
 ²Raise a song, sound the tambourine,
 the sweet lyre with the harp.
 ³Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
 at the full moon, on our festal day.
 ⁴For it is a statute for Israel,
 an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
 ⁵He made it a decree in Joseph,
 when he went out over the land of Egypt.
 I hear a voice I had not known:
 ⁶"I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
 your hands were freed from the basket.
 ⁷In distress you called, and I rescued you;
 I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
 I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Selah
 ⁸Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
 O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
 ⁹There shall be no strange god among you;
 you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
 ¹⁰I am the LORD your God,
 who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
 Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
 ¹¹"But my people did not listen to my voice;
 Israel would not submit to me.
 ¹²So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
 to follow their own counsels.
 ¹³O that my people would listen to me,
 that Israel would walk in my ways!
 ¹⁴Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
 and turn my hand against their foes.
 ¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him,
 and their doom would last forever.
 ¹⁶I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
 and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." 

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Reading    Mark 2:23--3:6

Chapter 2

²³One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" ²⁵And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? ²⁶He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions." ²⁷Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; ²⁸so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

Chapter 3

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        “Neighbors” by James Crews

Where I’m from, people still wave
to each other, and if someone doesn’t,
you might say of her, She wouldn’t
wave at you to save her life –

but you try anyway, give her a smile.
This is just one of the many ways
we take care of one another, say: I see you,
I feel you, I know you are real. I wave

to Rick who picks up litter while walking
his black labs, Olive and Basil –
hauling donut boxes, cigarette packs
and countless beer cans out of the brush

beside the road. And I say hello
to Christy, who leaves almond croissants
in our mailbox and mason jars of fresh-
pressed apple cider on our side porch.

I stop to check in on my mother-in-law—
more like a second mother – who buys us
toothpaste when it’s on sale, and calls
if an unfamiliar car is parked at our house.

We are going to have to return to this
way of life, this giving without expectation,
this loving without conditions. We need
to stand eye to eye again, and keep asking –

no matter how busy – How are you,
how’s your wife, how’s your knee? making
this talk we insist on calling small,
though kindness is what keeps us alive.

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

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the health of the creation, for abundant harvest that all may share, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For public servants, the government, and those who protect us; for those who work to bring peace, justice, healing, and protection in this and every place, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy

For those who are sick and suffering, particularly Alena, Jenna, Marilyn, Jerod & Julia, Nick, Julie, Jean, Marcella, Michael, Anne, JoAnn, Sandy, Beth, Johnny, Allen & Lorry, Betty, Dione, Theresa, Dottie, Tim, Henry, Mary, Greg, Ann Joyce, Barbara, & Shelby, and for those who are in captivity, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For deliverance in the time of affliction, wrath, danger, and need, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy

For all servants of the church, for this assembly, and for all people who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

Giving thanks for all who have gone before us and are at rest, rejoicing in the communion of all the saints, we commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to you, through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.

We give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously protected us today. We ask you to forgive us all our sins, where we have done wrong, and graciously to protect us tonight. Into your hands we commend ourselves: our bodies, our souls, and all that is ours. Let your holy angels be with us, so that the wicked foe may have no power over us.
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     Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus  (v. 1,4)   ELW 802

Let us ever walk with Jesus,
follow his example pure,
through a world that would deceive us
and to sin our spirits lure.
Onward in his footsteps treading,
trav'lers here, our home above,
full of faith and hope and love,
let us do our Savior's bidding.
Faithful Lord, with me abide;
I shall follow where you guide.

Let us also live with Jesus.
He has risen from the dead
that to life we may awaken.
Jesus, you are now our head,
we are your own living members;
where you live, there we shall be
in your presence constantly,
living there with you forever.
Jesus, let me faithful be;
life eternal grant to me.

Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling   Text and Music: Will L. Thompson, 1847-1909   Public domain.

Word of God, Come Down on Earth   Text: James Quinn, SJ, b. 1919.  Text © James Quinn, SJ, admin Selah Publishing Co.  Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274.  All rights reserved.  Music: Johann R. Ahle, 1625-1673. Public domain.

Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus   Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626-1681; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, alt. Text © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, admin. Augsburg Fortress. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-722274.  All rights reserved.  Music: Georg G. Boltze, 18th cent. Public Domain.