Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
— Luke 1:68-79, from BCP1979
Invitatory
The Mighty One, the Lord, speaks,
and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines out.
Our God comes, and does not keep silent.
A fire devours before him.
It is stormy around him.
He calls to the heavens above,
to the earth, that he may judge his people:
“Gather my saints together to me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
The heavens shall declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge.
— Psalm 50:1-6†
Cruciform
We do not preach ourselves,
but Christ Jesus as Lord,
and ourselves as your servants for his sake,
It is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness.”
In the face of Christ,
he has shone in our hearts to give the light.
— 2 Corinthians 4:5-6†
Weeks
A voice came out of the cloud:
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
— Mark 9:7
Following the seventh bead:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Dimissory
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.
— Phos hilaron, from BCP1979
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.