Opening Sentence

Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Psalm 74:15,16

Confession

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 105:23-45

Part II Et intravit Israel

 

23

Israel came into Egypt, *
and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.

24

The LORD made his people exceedingly fruitful; *
he made them stronger than their enemies;

25

Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people, *
and dealt unjustly with his servants.

26

He sent Moses his servant, *
and Aaron whom he had chosen.

27

They worked his signs among them, *
and portents in the land of Ham.

28

He sent darkness, and it grew dark; *
but the Egyptians rebelled against his words.

29

He turned their waters into blood *
and caused their fish to die.

30

Their land was overrun by frogs, *
in the very chambers of their kings.

31

He spoke, and there came swarms of insects *
and gnats within all their borders.

32

He gave them hailstones instead of rain, *
and flames of fire throughout their land.

33

He blasted their vines and their fig trees *
and shattered every tree in their country.

34

He spoke, and the locust came, *
and young locusts without number,

35

Which ate up all the green plants in their land *
and devoured the fruit of their soil.

36

He struck down the firstborn of their land, *
the firstfruits of all their strength.

37

He led out his people with silver and gold; *
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.

38

Egypt was glad of their going, *
because they were afraid of them.

39

He spread out a cloud for a covering *
and a fire to give light in the night season.

40

They asked, and quails appeared, *
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.

41

He opened the rock, and water flowed, *
so the river ran in the dry places.

42

For God remembered his holy word *
and Abraham his servant.

43

So he led forth his people with gladness, *
his chosen with shouts of joy.

44

He gave his people the lands of the nations, *
and they took the fruit of others' toil,

45

That they might keep his statutes *
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!

Gloria Patri

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Gospel

Luke 17:20-27 (NRSV)

20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21nor will they say, "Look, here it is!" or "There it is!" For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.' 22Then he said to the disciples, 'The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23They will say to you, "Look there!" or "Look here!" Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. 24For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. 26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Canticle 17 The Song of Simeon
Nunc Dimittis Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

• Martyrdom of the Fifty Virgins and their Mother
• Assembly of a Council at Rome to Decide on the time of Fasting of the Great Lent

When Emperor Julian the infidel heard that Sapor, the King of Persia, intended to fight him, he prepared his army and set out against Sapor. On his was to the City of El-Raha he passed by the convent and ordered his soldiers to rob it and kill everyone in it. The soldiers carried out the order and they cut the nuns into pieces with the swords.

The Lord took vengeance on this evil Emperor by having him stabbed by the spear of a knight at war. It was said that this knight was Saint Marcurius. The Emperor fell down from his horse and died. That was in the year 363 A.D. As for the nuns, they received the crown of martyrdom.

The Christians used to celebrate Epiphany, then they started a 40 day fasting on the following day. That was like the Lord Jesus Who fasted forty days and forty nights immediately after His baptism. The Christians then broke the fast on the twenty-second day of the Coptic month of Amshir. After some days they would fast the Passion week, then celebrate Easter.

When St. Demetrius was chosen Patriarch of Alexandria, God enlightened his mind with divine grace. He studied the Church books and interpreted most of them. He formulated the basis for calculating the days of the fast and the changeable feasts which we celebrate to the present time. He sent copies of these calculations to Abba Victor, Patriarch of Rome, Abba Maximus, Patriarch of Antioch, and Abba Agapius, Bishop of Jerusalem.

When Abba Victor received this message he appreciated it and he gathered fourteen of his learned bishops and many of the educated priests to examine it. They accepted it and spread it around their provinces. Since then the fast of the Great Lent and the festival of Easter have been regulated till today in the Orthodox Churches.

Apostles' Creed

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

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He 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.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass
against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages A

Show us your mercy, O Lord;

And grant us your salvation.

Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

Let your people sing with joy.

Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;

For only in you can we live in safety.

Lord, keep this nation under your care;

And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

Let your way be known upon earth;

Your saving health among all nations.

Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;

Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in us clean hearts, O God;

And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Collect of the Day: Pentecost, proper 28

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.

For Mission

O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

World Cycle of Prayer

We pray for the people of Tuvalu.

CIA World FactBook: Tuvalu

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer

We pray for our sisters and brothers, members of the Church of God in Christ.

The Church of God in Christ

For Local Government

For Those Who Need Continuing Care

Look with mercy, O God our Father, on all persons who have become ill, weak, distressed, or isolated. Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give them understanding helpers, and the willingness to accept help; and increase their faith and their assurance of your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Absent

O God, whose fatherly care reaches to the uttermost parts of the earth: We humbly beseech you graciously to behold and bless whom we love, now absent from us. Defend them from all dangers of soul and body; and grant that both they and we, drawing nearer to you, may be bound together by your love in the communion of your Holy Spirit, and in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

General Thanksgiving

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Benediction

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Alleluia.