Prelude
(Please stand as you are able)
Organ Processional: I need thee Every Hour, Page 13
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My own peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Amen.
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us pray.
Almighty and merciful God, whose only Son came to preach peace to the nations: Hear us, we beseech You, and comfort us with Your steady Hand, as we come before You this night in the wake of unspeakable violence. In a world that seems hopeless, help us to remember that our hope rests always in You, and in the resurrection of Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
(Please be seated)
The Readings
1st Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9
Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgements, they delight to draw near to God. ‘Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’ Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 120: A Song of Ascents
In my distress I cry to the Lord, that he may answer me: ‘Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.’
What shall be given to you? And what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!
Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech, that I must live among the tents of Kedar. Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
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; world without end. Amen.
2nd Reading: I Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
(Please stand as you are able)
The Sequence Hymn: Sweet Hour of Prayer, Page 14-15
The Gospel: Matthew 5:1-9
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, Lord Christ.
Reflection: The Rev’d. Hank Tuell
The Litany
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray:
(Please kneel as you are able)
God the Father, You gave the Law that Your people might live in peace,
Have mercy upon us.
God the Son, You suffered violence for the sake of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
God the Holy Spirit, You bind us together in a community of love,
Have mercy upon us.
Holy Trinity, One God, You model for us the perfect and holy relationship in which You intend for all people to live:
Have mercy upon us.
[Silence]
For all victims of violence, and particularly for those affected by the Shootings in Uvalde, Texas; Alexandria Rubio, Alithia Ramirez, Amerie Garza, Annabell Rodriguez, Elahana Torres, Eliana Garcia, Eva Mireles, Irma Garcia, Jackie Cazares, Jailah Silguero, Jace Luevanos, Jose Flores, Layla Salazar, Makenna Elrod, Maite Rodriguez, Miranda Mathis, Nevaeh Bravo, Rojelio Torres, Tess Marie Mata, Uziyah Garcia, and Xavier Lopez, in Buffalo, New York: Roberta Drury, Argus Morrison, Andre Machniel, Aaron Salter, Geraldine Talley, Celestine Chaney, Heyward Patterson, Katherine Massey, Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield, Zaire Goodman, Jennifer Warrington, Christopher Braden. The 44 injured and the 7 killed in mass shootings since the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas and all those impacted by gun violence throughout the United States, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who have been injured, that they might be restored to health, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who are afraid, that they may know Your perfect love which casts out fear, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who mourn, that they may be comforted in their distress, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
For all who have died, that they may be received into Your compassionate embrace, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the first responders, firefighters, chaplains, nurses, and all others who work to restore order, heal the wounded, and care for the needs of the community, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
For all volunteers who give of their time and resources to meet the needs of those affected by this tragedy, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
For leaders, both in the Church and in the government, who strive for greater peace, compassion, and understanding in the world, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
That the world may one day be free of violence, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
That war and bloodshed may one day be no more, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
That we may no longer desire revenge when we are wronged, but Your justice, which is mercy and grace, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
That each of us might be empowered and equipped to work toward a just and peaceful society, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
That all people might be united to seek the cause of Your Kingdom, we pray to You, O Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
We ask Your forgiveness for the ways in which we ourselves are complicit in the problem of violence in the world.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We ask Your forgiveness for any harm we have done to one another.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We ask Your forgiveness for any unkind words we have spoken against one another.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We ask Your forgiveness for any prejudice, bitterness, or hate we harbor in our hearts.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We ask Your forgiveness for any ill we have wished upon one another.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We ask Your forgiveness for the times when we have repaid evil for evil.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We ask Your forgiveness for the times when we have been slow to forgive.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
We ask Your forgiveness for all we do, think, and say which falls short of Your command to us to love one another.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
And help us to show mercy to one another.
(Silence is kept for a time.)
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name: Your Kingdom come, Your 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 Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever and ever. Amen.
O God, You made us in Your own image and redeemed us through Jesus Your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish Your purposes on earth; that, in Your good time, all nations and races may serve You in harmony around Your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Please stand as you are able)
Hymn: Abide with me, Page 16
The Peace
(Please Stand as you are able)
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
The people greet one another with a sign of God’s peace.
The Collects
(Please kneel as you are able)
O God, You have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth: deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in Your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before You, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God who Remembers, we hold before you all who have died from the plague of gun violence in our land. We remember those who have taken their lives with a gun, those who have died in school shootings and mass shootings, those who have died by a gun in the course of an argument or from abuse or by accident or during the commission of a crime. We lift our voices in sorrow and frustration knowing that every life is infinitely valuable to you. Receive all who have died into the arms of your mercy, bless those who mourn with the hope of eternal life, and strengthen our hearts and our arms to bring an end to this scourge. This we pray in the name of the one who overcame the power of death, your son, Jesus Christ. . Amen.
Let us lament with all those who are touched by gun violence.
Let us lament the shooter’s choice for violence. Let us lament laws that allow violent men easy access to guns. Let us lament our politicians’ unwillingness to work for change. Let us lament with the hearts broken by loss today. Let us lament all the lives cut short today. Let us lament, O God, and then let us rise from our knees to work for change. In the name of Christ, the prince of peace.
Amen.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give Your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for Your love’s sake. Amen.
The Dismissal
(Please stand as you are able)
Life is short, and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who make this journey with us. So be swift to love, make haste to be kind, And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you now and remain with you always. Amen.
Recessional Hymn: I, the Lord of Sea and Sky, Page 17-19
Let us go Forth in the Name of Christ.
Thanks be to God.