May 12 2021
Evening Prayer (Vespers)
You may wish to light a
candle and place it before you as you begin.
OPENING DIALOGUE
Mystery of God, draw us near.
Fill our minds
with awe!
Wisdom of God, surprise us.
Encourage us
with hope!
Glory of God, shine through our lives.
Reveal your
power and your glory!
In the mystery, the wisdom, the glory of God,
Let us
worship!
HYMN: Beautiful Savior
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSkLFZn8RGg
READINGS
FIRST READING: Acts 1:1-11
A reading from Acts
Theophilus, the first scroll I wrote concerned everything Jesus
did and taught from the beginning, right up to the day
when he was taken up into heaven. Before he was taken up, working in the power
of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. After his
suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He
appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s
kingdom. While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave
Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what
you heard from me: John baptized with water, but in only a few days you
will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
As a result, those who had gathered together
asked Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?”
Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that
the Father has set by his own authority. Rather, you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was
lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going away
and as they were staring toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood
next to them. They said, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking
toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in
the same way that you saw him go into heaven.”
Word of God, word of life. Thanks
be to God.
SECOND READING: Ephesians 1:15-23
A reading
from: Ephesians
Since I heard about your faith
in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, this is the reason that I don’t
stop giving thanks to God for you when I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. I
pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope
of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among
believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness
of God’s power that is working among us believers.
This power is conferred by the
energy of God’s powerful strength. God’s power was at work in Christ
when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the
heavens, far above every ruler and authority and
power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the
future. God put everything under Christ’s feet and
made him head of everything in the church, which
is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills
everything in every way.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
REFLECTION:
For 40 days after his resurrection,
Jesus stayed on earth, though it seems he had the power to appear and disappear
at will. He showed up here, then there among the disciples. Scripture doesn’t
record what happened in those days. My guess is that he focused on teaching the
disciples how to tell the good news to others.
He must ascend, so he
can sit at God’s right hand – in other words, resume his place in the Trinity. And
from the source of all power and goodness, Jesus can send the Holy Spirit into
the world.
After Jesus disappears
from sight, the disciples continue looking up for him, hoping, praying he will
return. But it won’t happen. God’s Plan A requires that Jesus is on earth for a
time, then returns to the Godhead.
Suddenly, two men appear
and ask why they are looking for Jesus up there? They won’t find him that way.
They need to understand that he will now appear to them in a different way, but
he will still be in their midst.
The author of Ephesians helps
the disciples and us understand that Jesus has God’s power, that Jesus’
presence is found in the ever-growing Church, the family of believers
who form Jesus ever-present body.
As such, we are Jesus’
body, called and gathered, and then sent, to be Jesus hands, and feet, and voice
in a world that hurts as much today as it did thousands of years ago. We are the witnesses
who will make Jesus known to the world, just as the first Twelve, and then the
hundreds and thousands did.
We are filled with God’s
Spirit power to make amazing things happen, because we believe. Let’s go and be
Jesus! Amen
SCRIPTURE DIALOGUE
Long
ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but
in these last days, God has spoken to us by the Son.
PRAYERS
In peace let us pray to
the Lord, saying, “We pray to you, Lord.”
That this evening may be
holy, good, and peaceful, We pray to you, Lord.
That the work we have
done this day and the people we have met may bring us closer to you, We
pray to you, Lord.
That we may be forgiven
our sins and offences, We pray to you, Lord.
That we may hear and
respond to your call to peace and justice, We pray to you, Lord.
That you will sustain
the faith and hope of the weary, the lonely, and the oppressed, We pray
to you, Lord.
That you will strengthen
us in your service, and fill our hearts with longing for your kingdom, We
pray to you, Lord.
Other prayer petitions may be offered here.
For all this and more, We pray to you, Lord. Amen.
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, forever and ever. Amen.
HYMN: How
Great Thou Art
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAttNOrx_Sc
BLESSING
The disciples looked up to heaven,
and then looked around at each other.
Slowly, understanding dawned upon them
as they began to recognize the presence
of their beloved Jesus in their midst.
With their minds enlightened, and their hearts
set free,
they went forth rejoicing, singing and praying,
and waiting for the Spirit’s coming.
Let us, too, go forth confident in God.
Let us rejoice in one another, +
as we wait in prayer for the surprise of the
Spirit.
Scripture from Common English Bible © 2012
Liturgy from ELW Annual Liturgy License 26504
Abingdon Worship Annual 2021
