¶ Evening Prayer
Easter Season
Sunday, 11 May 2025
The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Preparation

O God, make speed to save us.
AllO Lord, make haste to help us.

In your resurrection, O Christ,
Alllet heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
From the deep waters of death
you brought your people to new birth
by raising your Son to life in triumph.
Through him dark death has been destroyed
and radiant life is everywhere restored.
As you call us out of darkness into his marvellous light
may our lives reflect his glory
and our lips repeat the endless song.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

A Song of David (page 573), the following or another suitable hymn

Ye choirs of new Jerusalem,
your sweetest notes employ,
the Paschal victory to hymn
in strains of holy joy.

How Judah’s lion burst his chains
and crushed the serpent’s head;
and brought with him, from death’s domains,
the long-imprisoned dead.

Triumphant in his glory now
his sceptre ruleth all,
earth, heaven, and hell before him bow,
and at his footstool fall.

While joyful thus his praise we sing,
his mercy we implore,
into his palace bright to bring
and keep us evermore.

All glory to the Father be,
all glory to the Son,
all glory, Holy Ghost, to thee,
while endless ages run. Alleluia, Amen.

Fulbert of Chartres, tr: Robert Campbell
(Tune: CM)

This opening prayer may be said

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 113

Refrain: From the rising of the sun to its setting
let the name of the Lord be praised.

1 Alleluia.
Give praise, you servants of the Lord, ♦
O praise the name of the Lord.

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord, ♦
from this time forth and for evermore.

3 From the rising of the sun to its setting ♦
let the name of the Lord be praised.

4 The Lord is high above all nations ♦
and his glory above the heavens. R

5 Who is like the Lord our God,
that has his throne so high, ♦
yet humbles himself to behold
the things of heaven and earth?

6 He raises the poor from the dust ♦
and lifts the needy from the ashes,

7 To set them with princes, ♦
with the princes of his people.

8 He gives the barren woman a place in the house ♦
and makes her a joyful mother of children.
Alleluia.

Refrain: From the rising of the sun to its setting
let the name of the Lord be praised.

From the rising of the sun to its setting
we praise your name, O Lord;
may your promise to raise the poor from the dust
and turn the fortunes of the needy upside down
be fulfilled in our time also,
as it was in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 114

Refrain: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.

1 When Israel came out of Egypt, ♦
the house of Jacob from a people of a strange tongue,

2 Judah became his sanctuary, ♦
Israel his dominion.

3 The sea saw that, and fled; ♦
Jordan was driven back.

4 The mountains skipped like rams, ♦
the little hills like young sheep. R

5 What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? ♦
O Jordan, that you were driven back?

6 You mountains, that you skipped like rams, ♦
you little hills like young sheep?

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, ♦
at the presence of the God of Jacob,

8 Who turns the hard rock into a pool of water, ♦
the flint-stone into a springing well.

Refrain: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.

Strike the rock of our hard hearts, O God,
and let our tears of joy and sorrow
mould us to bear the imprint of your love,
given in Christ our risen Lord.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Isaiah 63.7-14

I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
   the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us,
   and the great favour to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
   according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, ‘Surely they are my people,
   children who will not deal falsely’;
and he became their saviour
   in all their distress.
It was no messenger or angel
   but his presence that saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
   he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

But they rebelled
   and grieved his holy spirit;
therefore he became their enemy;
   he himself fought against them.
Then they remembered the days of old,
   of Moses his servant.
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea
   with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is the one who put within them
   his holy spirit,
who caused his glorious arm
   to march at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
   to make for himself an everlasting name,
   who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
   they did not stumble.
Like cattle that go down into the valley,
   the spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
Thus you led your people,
   to make for yourself a glorious name.

Canticle

A Song of Faith, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 60 (page 618) or number 74 (page 632), may be said

Refrain:

AllGod raised Christ from the dead,
the Lamb without spot or stain. Alleluia.

1Blessed be the God and Father ♦
of our Lord Jesus Christ!

2By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope ♦
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

3Into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, ♦
kept in heaven for you,

4Who are being protected by the power of God through faith, ♦
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

5You were ransomed from the futile ways of your ancestors ♦
not with perishable things like silver or gold

6But with the precious blood of Christ ♦
like that of a lamb without spot or stain.

7Through him you have confidence in God,
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, ♦
so that your faith and hope are set on God.

1 Peter 1.3-5, 18, 19, 21

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

AllGod raised Christ from the dead,
the Lamb without spot or stain. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Luke 24.36-49

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

The Lord is my strength and my song:
he has become my salvation.
AllThe Lord is my strength and my song:
he has become my salvation.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the Lord.
AllHe has become my salvation.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
AllThe Lord is my strength and my song:
he has become my salvation.

from Psalm 118

Gospel Canticle

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary) is normally said,
or Great and Wonderful (page 629) may be said

Refrain:

AllThe stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone. Alleluia.

1My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; ♦
he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

2From this day all generations will call me blessed; ♦
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his name.

3He has mercy on those who fear him, ♦
from generation to generation.

4He has shown strength with his arm ♦
and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

5Casting down the mighty from their thrones ♦
and lifting up the lowly.

6He has filled the hungry with good things ♦
and sent the rich away empty.

7He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, ♦
to remember his promise of mercy,

8The promise made to our ancestors, ♦
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Luke 1.46-55

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

AllThe stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone. Alleluia.

Prayers

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
¶ for peace
¶ for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365

¶ The people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
¶ God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
¶ Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
¶ Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
¶ Prisoners and captives

A form of prayer found on page 382 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
raise us, who trust in him,
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.