Year
A
Proper 3
Does
not occur in 2014
Eucharistic Preface
Let
us lift up our hearts.
........We
lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
........It is right to
give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give
you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you show compassion to your
suffering ones
and have written our names on the palm of your
hands.
You created the earth and all its creatures,
clothing
even the grass of the fields in splendour
and bringing forth
abundant food,
even for the birds of the air.
You found your
people imprisoned in darkness
and through Moses and the
prophets,
you called them to freedom
and led them by springs of
water.
In your child, Jesus, you have come to us
again,
teaching us to entrust our souls to you
and to seek
first your kingdom
and its righteousness and justice for all.
When
he was killed by those
who serve wealth and power,
you raised
him to life again
so that his light might shine in the
darkness
and bring all the earth to freedom.
Therefore with
.....
©2008 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We give thanks for your child, Jesus,
in
whom you have taught us to entrust our souls to you
and to seek
first your kingdom
and its righteousness and justice for all.
You
raised him to life
so that his light might shine in the
darkness
and bring all the earth to freedom.
©2008
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
General
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Preface reformatted for use
apart from communion)
We give you all
thanks and praise, O God,
for you show compassion to your
suffering ones
and have written our names on the palm of your
hands.
You created the earth and all its creatures,
clothing
even the grass of the fields in splendour
and bringing forth
abundant food,
even for the birds of the air.
You found your
people imprisoned in darkness
and through Moses and the
prophets,
you called them to freedom
and led them by springs of
water.
In your child, Jesus, you have come to us
again,
teaching us to entrust our souls to you
and to seek
first your kingdom
and its righteousness and justice for all.
When
he was killed by those
who serve wealth and power,
you raised
him to life again
so that his light might shine in the
darkness
and bring all the earth to freedom.
Therefore,
with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all
times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2008
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Declaration
of Grace / Absolution
It is the Lord’s
judgement alone that matters,
and God will no more write us
off
than will a mother write off her nursing child.
God has
sent comfort and a word of compassion,
”Come out of darkness
and be free.”
Sisters and Brothers,
........your
sins are forgiven;
................be
at peace.
©2008 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now, as servants of
Christ
and stewards of God’s mysteries.
Strive firstly
for the kingdom of God
and its righteousness and justice.
Do
not be anxious, but calm your soul within you
and do not condemn,
even yourselves.
And may God generously provide all you
need;
May Christ Jesus guide you in the ways of light;
And may
the Holy Spirit fill you with comfort and hope.
We go in peace
to love and serve the Lord,
........In
the name of Christ. Amen.
©2008
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Paraphrases
of the Scripture
Lections
for Proper - Year A –
Does not occur in 2014
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 49: 8-16a
This is what the LORD
is saying:
What a day! I have answered your call.
........It’s
the day of rescue, and here I am.
I have kept you
safe,
........and
I have given you to the people
................as
the sign that I will always be with them.
I have given you the
job of putting the land in order,
........of
resettling the people
................on
the properties that were left abandoned.
Tell the prisoners
they can now go free;
........tell
those cowering in the darkness
................that
it is now safe to come out of hiding.
They will find all the
food they want along the way;
........even
the rocky mountain tops will produce food for them.
They will
never go hungry or thirsty;
........never
again be burnt by the sun or cut by the wind.
I care deeply
for them and I will lead them;
........I
will guide them along the perfect track
................from
one fresh waterhole to the next.
I will level out the
track
........so
that there are no tough climbs
................and
no treacherous descents.
Take a look and see!
........Here
come my people from far away,
................from
all points of the compass,
........................from
this land and that.
Sing your lungs out, sky
above!
........Explode
with joy, O planet earth!
................Burst
into song, O mighty mountains!
For the LORD’s
people were suffering,
........but
the LORD has felt their pain and given them
comfort.
But Zion said, “The LORD’s
back is turned to me.
........My
Lord has given up on me, written me off.”
Get a grip! Does a
woman give up on the child at her breast?
........Can
she turn her back when her own child is hurting?
And yet a woman
forgetting her child
........is
a lot more likely than me forgetting you.
Look here and
see,
........I
have written your name on the palm of my hand.
©2008
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 131
LORD, I am not too
full of myself.
........I
don’t set my sights too high.
I don’t try to get
involved in things
........that
are out of my league
................or
beyond my capabilities.
What I have done, LORD,
is look after my soul.
Like a mother tenderly calming a young
child,
........I
have calmed my soul to a quiet peace.
May all your people put
their hope in you, LORD,
........from
now on, and forevermore.
©2008
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
How should you think of us?
Think of us only as servants of the Messiah, and as those whose job
it is to handle the mysteries of God’s business. Now the basic
expectation of anyone who is given such a job is that they can be
trusted with it. For myself, I couldn’t care less whether you
or any other mob think I measure up. I don’t even try to judge
myself. I am not aware of any black marks against my name, but that
doesn’t prove anything. It is only what the Lord thinks of me
that matters. Therefore, don’t go jumping the gun and trying to
tally the score before time’s up, before the Lord arrives. He
will shine a spotlight on things that are now hidden under the cover
of darkness, and what really makes us tick will be out in the open
for all to see. Then, and only then, will each person receive the
thumbs-up from God for the things they’ve done well.
©2008
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Matthew 6:24-34
Jesus said:
........“No
one can play on two teams;
................you’ll
either give your best to one
........................and
under-perform for the other,
........................or
short-change one
................and
give your heart and soul for the other.
........You
can’t dedicate yourself to both God and financial
success.
........“So
I’m telling you, don’t go worrying about your life, about
where your next meal is coming from or what you will find to drink.
Don’t stress about what you look like or whether you’ve
got the right clothes to wear. Life is more than food, isn’t
it? And the body is not just a clothes rack, is it? Look at the birds
flying around. They don’t do any farming. They don’t
stock up the pantry with extra supplies. And yet your Father in
heaven feeds them. You are worth more than they are, aren’t
you? So what good does worrying do you? It won’t make you live
any longer - not even an hour - will it?
........“And
why do you worry about what to wear? Think about the wild flowers.
They grow without ever shopping or sewing a stitch. But you can take
it from me that they are clothed more perfectly than even a princess
at a royal wedding. If God takes such care over dressing the
wildflowers, which bloom today and are mown down and composted
tomorrow, how much more care will God take to make sure that you have
the clothes you need? Yet you find it hard to trust!
........“So
don’t get all anxious and go asking, ‘What are we going
to eat?’ or ‘Where will we find a drink?’ or ‘What
on earth will we wear?’. It is the people who don’t put
their trust in God who put all their energy into these things. You
can rest assured that your Father in heaven knows perfectly well that
you need these things. So you can make your first priority the new
culture of God and doing the right thing, God’s way, and all
these other things will be taken care of for you.
........“So
don’t stress out about tomorrow. Just deal the troubles of
today, and leave tomorrow’s worries until they come.”
©2008
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net