AP13

Year A
Proper 13
Sunday 3 August 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 offer us the banquet that feeds us abundantly
and fills us with your presence.

You strove against the darkness and chaos,
and you prevailed,
bringing forth creation in all its miraculous abundance.
You challenged your servant, Jacob, face to face,
and gave him your blessing and promise.
From his family you formed your covenant people,
in whom your glory, your law, and your worship
were revealed to the world.

But now, in these last days,
your Messiah, Jesus, has emerged from among them,
bringing your compassion and healing to all.
Though he was cursed and cut off for the sake of his people,
you raised him from death.
Now in him you offer food for our deepest hunger,
and it is in holding tight to him
that we see your face and receive your blessing.

Therefore with .....

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your Messiah, Jesus,
who was cursed and cut off for the sake of his people,
but has been raised to bring your compassion and healing to all
and to offer us the banquet that feeds us abundantly
and fills us with your presence.

©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 offer us the banquet that feeds us abundantly
and fills us with your presence.

You strove against the darkness and chaos,
and you prevailed,
bringing forth creation in all its miraculous abundance.
You challenged your servant, Jacob, face to face,
and gave him your blessing and promise.
From his family you formed your covenant people,
in whom your glory, your law, and your worship
were revealed to the world.

But now, in these last days,
your Messiah, Jesus, has emerged from among them,
bringing your compassion and healing to all.
Though he was cursed and cut off for the sake of his people,
you raised him from death.
Now in him you offer food for our deepest hunger,
and it is in holding tight to him
that we see your face and receive your blessing.

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

God has probed our hearts and tried us by fire,
but Christ has compassion for us and has justified us.
Therefore, God now finds nothing wrong in us.

Sisters and Brothers,
........your sins are forgiven;
................be at peace.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now into the world, strengthened by the gifts
with which Christ has fed you.
Be generous to others, for Christ has given extravagantly.
Live by God’s word, avoiding lies and violence.
Walk in God’s paths and never stray.

And may God’s wonderful love be with you everywhere;
May Christ Jesus feed you with his body and word;
And may the Holy Spirit confirm the truth in you
........and fill you with God’s presence always.

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 13 - Year A - Sunday 3 August 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 32: 22-31

........As he returned from his self-imposed exile, Jacob set up camp for a night at the place where the road crossed through the Jabbok Creek. During the night, he got up and decided that it would be safer to shift everyone across to the other side of the creek. So he sent his two wives, his two maids, his eleven children, and all their belongings across the creek while he stayed on alone at the original campsite. There in the darkness, he suddenly found himself wrestling with a stranger. The fight continued until the first light of dawn. Unable to subdue Jacob, the stranger swung a low blow that caught Jacob off-guard and dislocated his hip. Still Jacob would not give up, and the stranger said, “Call it quits! The sun is coming up and you’ve got a big day ahead of you, so let me go.”
........But Jacob replied, “I will not release my grip until you give me a blessing.”
........So the stranger said, “What is your name?”
........“Jacob,” he replied.
........“Not any more,” the stranger said. “From now on you will be known as Israel, because you have struggled against God and against people and you have held your own.”
........Then Jacob said to the stranger, “Please tell me your name.”
........“Do you really need to ask who I am?” the stranger replied, and then gave Jacob a blessing.
........As the stranger departed, Jacob said to himself, “I have come face to face with God and survived to tell the tale!” So he named that place ‘Peniel’ which means ‘face of God’. The sun was fully risen as he left Peniel, walking with a painful limp because of his dislocated hip.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

* Psalm 17: 1-7, 15

Give me a fair hearing, LORD;
........pay attention to my plea.
Listen to what I have to say,
........for I speak without a word of a lie.

I want you to be the one who declares me innocent,
........for you always see things as they really are.

Put me under the microscope and see what I’m made of;
........make a snap inspection anytime of day or night.
Cross examine me as thoroughly as you wish;
........there are no skeletons in my closet;
I’ve got nothing to hide
........and no tracks to cover.

I don’t just conform to what others do, LORD;
........I take my cues from what you’ve said.
I have avoided straying down the path of violence,
........and kept my feet firmly on the tracks you’ve shown.

I am calling to you, God,
........because I know you will help.
Tune in to what I have to say
........and hear me out.

Put your rock-solid love on display for all to see.
........You are the one who rescues and shelters
................those who seek asylum from violent persecution.

I know I will be proved innocent;
........I will be able to hold my head up and look you in the eye.
................I will rise to a new day, filled with your presence.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

* Romans 9: 1-5

I feel all torn up inside and it won’t go away — it is like a constant stabbing pain, deep in my guts. I’m fair dinkum about this, without a word of a lie. My conscience is clear, and the Messiah and the Holy Spirit can back me up. What’s eating at me is where the Israelites are at. They are my own people, my own flesh and blood, and I would do anything — even have myself put under a curse and cut off from Christ forever — if it would bring them into the fullness of life God intended for them. The Israelites have had everything going for them. They have been God’s special adopted children. They have witnessed God’s glory again and again. They have enjoyed the privileges of special alliances with God, of receiving God’s teaching directly, of the wonderful traditions of worship, and of all the promises God has made to them. The great founders of the faith are their own ancestors, and from among them, sharing their own flesh and blood, came the Messiah, who is number one in all the universe, the God who deserves our worship forever. And so say all of us!

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

* Matthew 14: 13-21

........When Jesus heard that John the baptiser had been killed, he cleared off in a boat by himself, intending to lie low for a while. But the people from all the surrounding towns got wind of which direction he was heading, and followed him around the lake on foot. When he pulled ashore, there was already a large crowd waiting for him. Jesus felt for them deeply, and cured the sick among them.
........When evening came, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “We’re in the middle of nowhere out here. It is time to send the crowds on their way so that they can make it to the shops in the nearby towns to get something to eat before it’s too late.”
........Jesus said to them, “There’s no need for the people to leave. You lot give them something to eat.”
........They replied, “But we’ve got almost nothing ourselves; just five bread rolls and a couple of fish.”
........Jesus said, “Bring them here.”
........As the food was brought, he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Taking the five bread rolls and the two fish, he looked towards heaven and gave thanks and praise to God. Then he broke the bread and gave the pieces to the disciples, and the disciples passed them around among the people. Everybody ate their fill, and when the leftovers were gathered up, there was enough to fill twelve bags. This was no small crowd that had been fed; there were about five thousand men and goodness knows how many women and children.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Alternative Hebrew Bible Lections themed to the Gospel Lection

* Isaiah 55: 1-5

This is what the LORD says:

Hey you! Are you thirsty?
........Come, then; drink from these fresh waters!
Are you too penniless even to eat?
........Never mind! Come; help yourselves; eat your fill!
Come and stock up with food, wine and milk.
........What will it cost you? Not a red cent!

Why sink all your money into things that leave you hungry?
........Why bust a gut working for things that can never satisfy?
Listen carefully to what I have to say
........and you will feast at a rich banquet of fine foods.

Stick with me and tune in to what I’m saying,
........for without my words, life is bland and tasteless.
I will surround your lives with love and loyalty,
........making a permanent alliance, just as I did with David.
I gave him influence and authority over the nations,
........and he was my witness among them.

You will be the same — a light to which others flock;
........even those who don’t know you will come running;
they’ll be drawn to my glory, seen in you,
........the glory of the LORD, the one and only God of Israel.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

* Psalm 145: 8-9, 14-21

LORD, you are generous and compassionate;
........slow to anger, and rich in love and loyalty.

You are good to everyone, LORD,
........and you care deeply about all you have created.

When people fall, you put them back on their feet;
........when people are crushed, you stand them tall again.

Everyone looks to you for what they need,
........and you meet their needs when the time is right.

You open your hands
........and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

Justice marks everything you do, LORD,
........and generous love colours your every deed.

When honest hearts cry out to you, LORD,
........you are right there alongside them.

You satisfy the desires of those who respect you;
........you hear their cries and rescue them from death.

You watch out for those who love you, LORD,
........and wipe out corruption when it threatens.

Your praises will be always on our lips, LORD,
........and with all who live,
................we will single out your name for the highest honour
........................forever and ever.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net