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 Mary, Martha, Jesus, and Lazarus

SERVICE OF LIGHT

Greeting/Invocation

 We light the EVENING CANDLE and say or sing:

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World!

~The Light no darkness can extinguish!

You are the Resurrection and the Life,

~Those who believe in you will never die.

TUESDAY EVENING HYMN

Life, never bounded or constrained,

tamed chaos, took the flood in hand,

determined these should now recede

and bare what would become the land.

And so, this day, their bound’ries set,

God named one “Earth!” the other “Sea!”

And then, beholding both were good,

Love’s eye was drawn to shrub and tree.

Life thus addressed our Mother Earth,

and charged her: “Color, bloom and root!

Be lavish in the gifts you bear

of greening forests, plants and fruit!”

And so it was and it was good!

Our planet’s splendors stood untrod;

each peak, each valley, plain and pond

poured forth its poetry to God.

Thus evening came and morning came

the third day, when our Earth first breathed;

so fragile, faithful, fruitful, free:

by Life sustained, by Love conceived!  Amen.

_{Text: Aelred-Seton Shanley; Tune: O KINDLY MAKER, L.M. Gethsemani Abbey (1971)}

SERVICE OF THE WORD

Antiphon/Refrain

“I call you my friends, no longer are you slaves:

for I’ve made known to you all that the Abba told me.”

John 15:9-17; 11:25; Luke 10:41-42

As the Abba has loved me,

so I have loved you.

Live on in my love,

and love one another.

Martha, my dearest friend,

you are busy about many things;

Mary has different gifts,

let her be as she is called.

I am the resurrection,

I am the life;

Those who believe in me

will have eternal life.

No greater love exists,

than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

And you are my friends

if you love as I have commanded.

I have chosen you

to go forth and bear much fruit;

your fruit must endure

so my Abba will hear your prayer:

“I call you my friends, no longer are you slaves:

for I’ve made known to you all that the Abba told me.”

READING        JOHN 11: 23-27

Responsory

R.  These are words that you can trust * Christ Jesus came to save us all. V.  Grace, mercy and peace to you from the Abba and from Jesus our Teacher; * Christ Jesus came to save us all.  V. Glory to the Abba and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.

Gospel Canticle

Antiphon

Martha said to Jesus: “I have come to believe that you are the Christ,

the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

 Canticle of Mary

My heart + is radiant with the Lord,

My whole being delights in God my Savior.

All people now will call me blessed

For God has loved this humble handmaid.

The Almighty has shown me great favor

Holy is the NAME,

Whose mercy embraces the faithful,

From one generation to the next.

The mighty arm of God,

Scatters the proud in their own conceit,

Pulls tyrants from their thrones

While lifting up the lowly:

Fills the famished with bounty,

And reveals the emptiness of riches.

Rescues lowly Israel,

Sharing such loving kindness,

As promised to our ancestors

To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.

Glory to the One and to the Word

And to the Breath of Love

As always before

So now and evermore. Amen

Martha said to Jesus: “I have come to believe that you are the Christ,

the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

 Litany of Intercession

You gifted Martha and Mary and their brother, Lazarus, with a special friendship and accepted their hospitality whenever you were in Bethany, ~may we welcome you in the least of our sisters and brothers  into our hearts and into our homes

You understood Martha’s being busy about many things and her plea that Mary join her in serving, ~teach us to be our true selves and to choose carefully what you are calling us to do.

Mary sat at your feet and listened to your teachings and your stories, ~open our ears and our hearts to listen deeply to the words you share with us each day in scripture and in creation.

Martha insisted that, although you could have healed Lazarus before he died, God would listen to your every request; ~give us her confidence that you are indeed the Anointed One who has come into the world.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were known to be your special friends, and like you, were held suspect by the religious leaders of your day; ~strengthen us today as we walk in friendship with you–especially when religious leaders question or condemn us.

Six days before your death, Martha served you dinner and Mary anointed your feet with precious oil; ~may those who care for the sick, the injured, and those near death be blest with courage, stamina and a deep sense of your presence in those they serve.

You taught us to pray:

Prayer of Jesus

Our Dear Abba in heaven…

Closing Prayer

Great Fire of Charity, kindle in us both the generous hospitality of Martha and the contemplative spirit of Mary whose feast we celebrate today.  As the abundance of summer’s fields and gardens calls us to be busy about many things and to share these blessings with others, may the overwhelming beauty and mystery of creation move us to contemplative wonder, gratitude and praise. For your love is the power which creates, sustains, and guides all things to freedom, flourishing and the fullness of life now and forever. Amen.

 Blessing

May the God of love fill us + with all joy and peace, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may abound in hope.   ~Amen.

Let us bless Adonai.

~Thanks be to God.

Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Salve Regina

Marian Antiphon

Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae, Vita dulcedo et Spes nostra, salve!

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae; Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum vale. Eia, ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos, ad nos converte; et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis, post hoc exilium ostende.  O Clemens, O Pia, O Dulcis, Virgo Maria!

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God;

~ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.  Holy, Mighty and Immortal God, through the working of the Holy Spirit, you prepared the body and soul of the glorious virgin Mother Mary, as a worthy dwelling for your Word; grant that we, who celebrate her memory each evening, may with the help of her prayers, be freed from ever-present evil, and come to share the fulness of life eternal.   Amen.