Praying in the Evening: Luther’s Evening Prayer

Good Friday Tenebrae Vespers

April 14, 2017

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

It has always struck me, and others I’m sure, how after praying Luther’s evening prayer we have those words, “Then to sleep at once and in good cheer.”  Many nights we can probably do so, but on “cheer” isn’t something most people feel on the night of Good Friday. It is a dark day, more mournful than cheerful.  But as Christians, we do not mourn as others who have no hope. We gather tonight, in the evening and in the dark, not to funeralize Jesus, but to hear God’s Word of His great sacrifice in sending His Son to die, and in recognition of God’s love for us.

And hear it we did. From the Gospel according to St. John, we heard of Jesus’ suffering, death, and burial once again. His arrest and phony trial, his beatings and nailing to the cross. The great humiliation of the very Son of God ought to leave us ashamed. We are the ones who deserve God’s wrath, not Him.  We are the ones who deserve death, not Him.

May we, with a deep sense of our sinfulness, humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, before who we are dust and to dust we shall return. For death has no respect for persons, nor even of God. We die the common death of all men, for the wages of sin is death. Though sinless, upon the cross, Christ took death upon Himself. He died to deliver us from this great enemy, to deliver us from our offenses, and was raised again for our justification bringing life and immortality to light.  Christ has been raised from the dead, He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen sleep (1 Corinthians 15:20).  Because of this, we can go to sleep this evening in good cheer.

Luther’s Evening Prayer serve as a liturgical pattern for how the Christian may pray and how we ought to live, ordering our days and our night in His grace. We begin by giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son that He has graciously kept us this day. We pray for the forgiveness of sins committed throughout the day, protection from evil throughout the night, and we commit ourselves, our body and soul and all things, into the hands of God. We defy the devil, the sinful world, and our own sinful flesh by keeping God’s holy name upon our lips. Awake or asleep, at work or at rest, we live within God’s merciful care as children who are wrapped in the holy hands of Jesus.

Luther has the cross in mind in this prayer. All of things for which we pray are only possible because of Good Friday.  At Jesus’ crucifixion, forgiveness is won. At Jesus’ crucifixion, the evil one is defeated. At Jesus’ crucifixion, as the night is about to fall, and Jesus sleep the sleep of death, He utters these words from Psalm 31:5, “Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” And then He breathes His last breathe.  This is how we can echo Jesus’ words, “Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend ourselves.” This is a prayer of comfort and peace in knowing that because of Christ, our lives are secure. And that we can rest in peace in life, and in death.

There’s an ancient phrase, dormit in pace, or in English "he sleeps in peace,” found in the catacombs of the early Christians.  It indicated that they died in the peace of the Church, that is, united in Christ. By the eighth century, it had been modified a little into Requiescat in pace, or in English, “rest in peace.” This is where we get the acronym R.I.P., which in many places continues to be engraved on the gravestones of Christians. It is a confession of Christ, and of Good Friday, and of Easter.

For example, there’s a prayer often said to bless a grave. It goes like this, “O Lord Jesus Christ, by Your three-day rest in the tomb You hallowed the graves of all who believe in You, promising resurrection to our mortal bodies. Bless this grave that the body of our [brother/sister] may sleep here in peace until You awaken [him/her] to glory, when [he/she] will see You face to face and know the splendor of the eternal God, for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” Your rest has been sanctified by Jesus.

You have been incorporated into the body of Christ by your baptism. What is yours is His and what is His is now yours. Your sins belong to Him. But His suffering is your suffering. His death will be your death. And His resurrection will be your resurrection as well. Save the Lord appear first, rest in a tomb awaits you. But so does your awakening to eternal life, as St. Paul says in Ephesians 5:14, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Tonight, go to sleep in good cheer. The Lord has kept you this day by His grace, He has forgiven your sins for the sake of Christ, and watches over your body and soul this night. Jesus went to the cross for you, and peace between you and God has been restored. Jesus has consumed your suffering and death. Now, as suffering comes upon you in life, you are brought to the suffering of Christ. When you sleep the sleep of your death, you are brought into the death of Christ. But never forget what lies after suffering and death: glory, life, and the resurrection. Your rest has been sanctified by Jesus, in your bed and in your grave. Rest in peace, in that faith that our sins are forgiven, and where there is forgiveness, there is life and salvation. Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace. Amen.