Year
A
Proper 12
Sunday
27 July 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 are faithful to the
covenant you have made
with a thousand generations.
You are
the creator and judge of all the earth
and in all things you work
for good for your chosen ones.
Your servant Jacob laboured seven
years
for the love of Rachel;
and for love of us,
your
child Jesus has laboured all the way to death.
He came among
us, sowing your Word,
and from that tiny seed your kingdom has
grown,
a pearl of great price,
a treasure for which we would
give everything,
a home of welcome and grace for all
people.
Though rulers and powers turned against him
and he was
killed,
you raised him to new life
and now there is nothing in
all creation
that can separate us from the love given us in
Christ.
Therefore with .....
©2002
Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We give you thanks for your child Jesus
who
came among us, sowing your Word,
a tiny seed from which your
kingdom has grown,
and now there is nothing in all creation
that
can separate us from the love given us in Christ.
©2002
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 are faithful to the covenant you
have made
with a thousand generations.
You are the creator
and judge of all the earth
and in all things you work for good
for your chosen ones.
Your servant Jacob laboured seven years
for
the love of Rachel;
and for love of us,
your child Jesus has
laboured all the way to death.
He came among us, sowing your
Word,
and from that tiny seed your kingdom has grown,
a pearl
of great price,
a treasure for which we would give everything,
a
home of welcome and grace for all people.
Though rulers and powers
turned against him
and he was killed,
you raised him to new
life
and now there is nothing in all creation
that can separate
us from the love given us in Christ.
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.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net
Declaration
of Grace / Absolution
The Spirit helps us in our
weakness,
and Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding
for us.
We have been chosen, called and put in the right
and
nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Sisters and
Brothers,
........your sins are
forgiven;
................be at
peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
Laughingbird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now secure in the love
of God
from which nothing can separate you.
Delight in seeking
the Lord -
look always for the power and the presence of God,
and
let love, like yeast in dough, permeate all you do.
And may
God work for good in all things for you;
May Christ Jesus conform
you in the image of his love;
And may the Holy Spirit help you in
your weakness,
interceding for you, and in you, according to the
will of God.
We go in peace to love and serve the
Lord,
........In the name of
Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
Laughingbird.net
Paraphrases of the
Scripture Lections
for Proper
12 - Year A - Sunday 27 July 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.
* Genesis 29: 15-28
........Fulfilling
a promise to his father, Jacob travelled to his grandfatherís
homeland to find a wife from among his own tribal group. He boarded
there with his uncle, Laban, and when he had been there for a month,
Laban said to him, ìYou shouldnít have to work for me
for nothing, just because you are related to me. Tell me what you
think would be a fair wage.î
........Now
Laban had two grown daughters named Leah and Rachel. Leah was the
older of the two and had a nice personality, but Rachel had a
gorgeous face and a shapely body, and Jacob fell head-over-heels in
love with her. So when Laban asked him about wages, he said, ìI
want to marry your younger daughter, Rachel, and I will work for you
for seven years as the dowry payment.î
........Laban
replied, ìYouíve got a deal. Iíd much rather
give her to you than have her marry some stranger.î
........So
Jacob put in seven yearsí hard work in order to gain Rachel as
his wife, but it seemed a small price to pay for one he loved so
much, and the time flew. Then one day, Jacob said to Laban, ìIíve
fulfilled my side of the deal. It is time for you to give me my wife
in marriage so that I can make love with her.î
........So
Laban gathered together all the locals for a huge wedding feast, and
they ate and drank long into the night. But the veiled woman who
Laban gave away and who Jacob took to his bed and made love with, was
Leah. When the morning sun came in the window, he discovered he was
lying next to the wrong woman! He stormed off to Laban to demand an
explanation. ìWhatís going on here? We made a deal that
I was working for you in return for Rachel, so why have you conned
me?î
........Laban calmly
replied, ìIt is not the done thing in this neck of the woods
to marry off a younger daughter while her older sister is still
unmarried. Do the right thing by Leah, and take her on her honeymoon,
and as soon as you get back, Iíll let you marry Rachel as
well. Then you can work for me for another seven years to pay off the
second dowry. So Jacob copped it sweet and fulfilled his obligations
to Leah. When their honeymoon was over, there was another wedding and
Laban gave his daughter Rachel to Jacob to be his wife.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net
*
Psalm 105: 1-11, 45c (alt)
We
shout your name and give you thanks, LORD;
........we
will tell everyone what you have done for us.
We sing your praises
in your presence,
........and
publicise your wonderful achievements.
We put your name up in
lights, your name alone;
........our
hearts burst with joy when we approach you.
It is you we want most
of all, you and your strength;
........we
try to keep near to you all the time.
Like all the descendants
of Abraham and Jacob,
........and all
your chosen children,
we remember all the astonishing things you
have done
........and the
breath-taking wisdom of your decisions.
You are the LORD
our God;
........what you say, goes,
everywhere on earth.
You never forget the alliance you have made
with us;
........youíve been
true to your word for a thousand generations.
You made the
alliance with Abraham;
........you
promised Isaac you would stick to it;
you confirmed it in writing
to Jacob,
........promising Israel
that the alliance was in place forever.
You gave them the land of
Canaan as a family property,
........to
be passed on down from one generation to the next.
You are the
greatest, LORD!
©2002
Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net
OR
*
Psalm 128 (alt)
LORD,
how good life is for all who respect you,
........for
all who stick to your tracks.
They work hard and enjoy the
benefits;
........smiles and laughter
are never far away,
................and
things always seem to work out for them.
They enjoy a rich and
satisfying love-life;
........they
look forward to going home each day.
Their children spring up like
wildflowers,
........and there is
always laughter around the table.
Such health, fertility and
prosperity are your gifts, LORD;
........given
to those who honour and respect you.
You rain down blessings
from your holy mountain.
........May
we see only good times in our city, LORD,
................for
as long as we live.
May we live long enough to enjoy our
grandchildren,
........and may there
always be peace in our land!
©2002 Nathan
Nettleton Laughingbird.net
*
Romans 8: 26-39
........There
will be times when our strength fails us and we will feel like just
accommodating ourselves to the way things presently are, but the
Spirit will always be there for us. Even when our prayer dries up and
words fail us, the Spirit is there within us, keeping the
communication lines open by turning our deepest achings and yearnings
into prayers that pass wordlessly from heart to heart. And God, being
of one mind with the Spirit, is able to hear the cries of our hearts
because the Spirit offers them ó along with the prayers of all
Godís people ó in language that connects with the cries
of Godís heart. Because the Spirit is always on the job, we
know that everything that happens will contribute something to
bringing about the best for those who love God and have responded to
the call to cooperate with what God is on about.
........You
see, being able to tell who they would be, God booked them all in
ahead for a full reconstructive make-over. They will come out being
just like Godís Son, all related to him and to one another,
but heíll still be the stand-out original. Having set this up
for people, God contacted them individually and challenged them to
get in on it. Those who were contacted were put in the good books
with God, and once in the good books, they were lifted up and covered
in glory.
........So what are we to
make of all this? If God is personally backing us, who can stand
against us? Having spared nothing for us so far, and having continued
to give freely to us all, even when it meant losing his own Son, God
is clearly set on going the whole way and giving us the lot. So who
would dare mouth off against one of Godís chosen ones? It is
God who says who is in the good books. Who would dare condemn us when
the one who is going to plead our case to God is the Messiah, Jesus,
who died and was raised and is now Godís right hand man. Is
there anyone or anything that can put us beyond the reach of the
Messiahís love? Can tough times do it? Or Grief? Can
victimising us, or denying us food and shelter, or subjecting us to
torture and violence do it? The scriptures suggest not:
ìThe violence we cop for God never seems to stop;
........we are marched off like animals to be butchered.î
No, even when we are copping all these
things, the One who already went through them and continued to love
us sets us up as the ultimate winners. So I am dead-set sure that
there is absolutely nothing ó nothing living or dead, nothing
wielding power in heaven or on earth, nothing in the past or in the
future, nothing of authority or influence, nothing above or below or
any place else in the entire universe ó that will ever be able
to come between us and the love of God that we have found in the
Messiah, Jesus our Lord.
©2002 Nathan
Nettleton Laughingbird.net
*
Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52
Jesus used some more
stories to teach those around him, saying:
.....ìHere is a good illustration of the kingdom of heaven. Someone takes a blackberry seed and plants it in the garden. One little seed; you wouldnít even know it was there. But it grows into a huge bush, and then just keeps on going and no one can stop it. Eventually it is so big that a whole colony of rabbits can build a home under its branches!
.....ìThe kingdom of heaven is like some vodka that a woman secretly added to a huge vat of fruit punch at a party. No one realised it was there until it had the whole crowd under its influence!
.....ìHere is another good illustration of the kingdom of heaven. A person took a shortcut through someone elseís property and stumbled across a reef of gold. Jumping for joy, he covered it over and ran off to sell everything he had so that he could buy the property.
.....ìHereís another illustration. A diamond trader is out to buy some fine diamonds. He comes across one of a quality far beyond anything he has ever seen before, so he goes and cashes in everything else he owns in order to buy it.
.....ìHere is one more illustration of the kingdom of heaven for you. A couple of fishing boats pull a drag net through the sea, catching everything in its path. When it is full, they pull it ashore, and the crews sit down to sort out the catch. The good fish are put on ice ready for the market, and the rubbish is thrown away. That is just like what will happen at the end of the age. The angels will come and pick out those who are corrupt from among those who stick to the right track, and throw them into the incinerator. Theyíll be cursing and kicking themselves then!
........Jesus
asked his followers, ìAre you beginning to cotton on to what
Iím saying here?î
........ìYes,î
they answered.
........So he went on
to say to them, ìYou see then, when those who really know the
scriptures are trained in the ways of the kingdom of heaven, they
become like a good wine merchant who can, at a momentís
notice, bring out from the cellar just the right bottle; something
new or something old as the occasion demands.î
©2002
Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net
Alternative
Hebrew Bible Lections themed to the Gospel Lection
* 1
Kings 3: 5-12
........One
night, while Solomon was staying in Gibeon, the LORD God appeared to
him in a dream. God said to him, ìSolomon, what would you most
like me to give you?î
........Solomon
answered God, saying:
You always loved my father, your servant David. Your love was solid and unshakable, because he was good and honest and did the right thing by you. As a sign of your love and loyalty to him, you gave him a son to inherit his kingdom. So here I am, LORD God. I am your servant, and you have made me king in place of my father, even though Iím little more than a boy and have no idea how to conduct myself properly. I am your servant and you have given me the job of ruling your chosen people, even though they are a great nation and too numerous to count. So then, what I would most like you to give me is this: I want the wisdom necessary to rule justly, and the insight to reliably pick the difference between right and wrong. Without these gifts, no one could ever hope to rule your people.
The Lord was most impressed with Solomonís request, and said to him:
You could have selfishly asked me to give you a long life, or to make you the richest man on earth, or to wipe out your enemies. But instead you have asked me for the wisdom to make the right decisions for my people. You have chosen well and I will give you exactly what you have asked for. You will have more wisdom and insight than anyone else who has ever lived or ever will.
©2000 Nathan
Nettleton Laughingbird.net
*
Psalm 119: 129-136
The instructions you have
given, LORD, are the best;
........they
find a ready welcome within me.
As your words become clear,
they light up the world,
........and
even the simplest minds begin to understand.
In my thirst for
more of your teachings,
........Iím
like a dog panting for water.
Look my way and give me the
inside running,
........as is your
usual practice to those who love you.
Keep me safely on track
as you promised you would,
........and
donít let corruption get the better of me.
Rescue me
from those who would stand over me;
........keep
me free to do what you want me to do.
I am your trusty
worker;
........smile on me and teach
me your ways.
It tears my heart out
........to
see how so many defy you.
©2002 Nathan
Nettleton Laughingbird.net