Paraphrases
of the Scripture
Lections
for the Monday of
Holy Week – 4 April 2011
Lections from
The Revised Common Lectionary.
Copyright 1992 by the Consultation
on Common Texts (CCT)
P. O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN
37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.
* Isaiah 42:1-9
Let me introduce to you the
one who serves me,
........the one I
am backing all the way.
I have chosen him,
........and
I am bursting with pride over him.
I have given him my spirit in
full measure,
........and he will
bring about justice everywhere on earth.
He won’t go
thrusting himself into the public eye,
........or
grandstanding in the street with pompous speeches.
He won’t
exploit the vulnerability of damaged people,
........or
squeeze the last drops out of those who are running on empty.
He
will be completely fair dinkum
........about
making justice a reality.
He will not run out of steam or
throw in the towel
........until his
mission is accomplished;
until justice holds sway everywhere on
earth
........and the world’s
peoples are eager to learn from him.
I am the one who created
the universe
........and stretched
out the skies;
the one who constructed the earth
........and
produced everything that grows from it;
the one who breathes life
into the world’s people
........and
kindles the spark of life within them;
I am the LORD
your God;
........so listen to what I
have to say:
I, the LORD, have called you
to stand for what is right,
........and
I have put my arm around you and kept you safe.
I have made you a
shining light for all the earth to see,
........to
draw all people everywhere into a permanent alliance with me.
I
have given you a privileged role
........as
the one who enables the blind to see the light;
........the
one who opens the gates of the stifling detention
centres
................and welcomes
the prisoners into the fresh air of freedom.
I am the LORD,
that is my name;
........I don’t
allow pretenders to cash in on my glory
................or
rip off my image to to promote their frauds.
Take note:
everything I warned you about has happened on cue.
........Now
I am announcing my new projects;
................I’m
letting you in on them even before they get started.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 36: 5-11
You unwavering love fills the
universe, LORD;
........your
loyalty is as timeless as the milky way.
Your passion for
doing right
........is as solid as
the mountain ranges;
your understanding of us
........is
as deep as the oceans.
You set out to save the lives of every
creature, LORD,
........and
no one — not man nor woman,
................not
bird nor beast — is left out of your care.
Your love, O
God, is our greatest treasure!
........You
keep a place for everyone
................under
the shelter of your wings.
You invite all who come to feast at
your table;
........the wine of your
love flows like a river
................and
no one’s glass is allowed to run dry.
Life bursts forth
from you like a fountain;
........light
shines from you and lights up our world.
Don’t ever give
up on us, LORD;
........keep
loving all who trust you,
........keep
rescuing all whose hearts are in the right place.
Protect us
from those who would trample us underfoot.
........Stand
in the way of those who would drive us from the land.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Hebrews 9: 11-15
........The
priests of old served in a great tent which people had made as the
place to approach God here on earth, but when Christ came he bypassed
the old tent. He came as the new high priest, bringing a new improved
way of approaching God. Once and for all he went in to the real Holy
Place of God’s presence, in the middle of the ultimate tent —
heaven itself. He also bypassed the old sacrifices of goat and calf
blood. Instead, he shed his own blood in the process of winning
permanent freedom for everyone.
........Under
the old arrangements, people were not permitted to come and worship
God if they had done something that made them officially unclean.
They had to be purified first in a ritual that required them to be
sprinkled with blood from goats and bulls and with the ashes of a
sacrificed calf. Now if such a ritual was enough to clear up these
problems, imagine how much more thoroughly our lives can be cleaned
up — inside and out — by the blood of Christ! Christ’s
self-sacrifice — which because of his spotless record was the
greatest possible sacrifice — was made in the power of God’s
Spirit to wipe the slate clean for us. No longer are we weighed down
by the emotional debris left over from previous futile efforts to
sort things out with God. Now we are free to join the joyous dance of
life that honours God!
........This
is why we say that Jesus is the mediator. He brought the two sides
together — us and God — to establish a new alliance. It
took his own death to bring the job to completion, but he succeeded
in having written off the debts we had accumulated by breaking the
rules of the old agreement, and having us written back into the list
of those who God has called — those who will inherit for all
time all that God has promised to give.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
John 12: 1-11
........Six
days before the celebration of Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. He
stayed overnight in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus; the man he
had previously raised from the dead. Martha prepared a dinner party
in honour of Jesus, and everyone was there, including Lazarus. During
the evening, Mary broke open a very expensive bottle of blended
fragrant oils. She poured out the oil and used it to massage Jesus’
feet. She then wiped them dry with her own hair. The intoxicating
fragrance of the oils filled the whole house.
........Judas
Iscariot, however, took exception to her behaviour. Although he was
one of Jesus’ closest followers, the seeds of betrayal were
taking root in his mind. When he saw what Mary was doing, he growled,
“What do you think you’re doing? That stuff is worth a
fortune. Why was it not sold and the money put to work to do
something for the poor?”
........He
wasn’t really the least bit concerned about the plight of the
poor, but he was their treasurer and liked to keep their shared
account topped up so he could help himself to it without anyone
noticing.
........Jesus said, “Get
off her case, Judas! She brought that oil and kept it to use in
preparing me for a decent burial. There will never be any shortage of
opportunities to do something worthwhile for the poor, but you won’t
always have the opportunity to do anything worthwhile for
me.”
........The news that
Jesus was back in Bethany spread quickly and the crowds gathered to
see him. Many were also keen to see Lazarus, because they had heard
about Jesus raising him from the dead. When news of this reached the
senior religious authorities, they began plotting to have Lazarus
killed as well. They wanted to get rid of him because he had inspired
so many of their followers to give up on them and switch their
allegiance to Jesus.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net