Year
A
Proper 22
Sunday
5 October 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 have made us you own,
through Christ Jesus,
and given us a new righteousness based on
faith.
You created the entire universe:
the sky tells of
your glory,
day and night reveal the genius of your ways.
You
brought your people out of slavery
and gave them your laws and
commandments,
that they might be rich in Spirit and clear in
vision.
Though we repeatedly rejected your ways
and
destroyed your messengers,
you sent your Son to us to renew
heavenís call.
Though the crowds recognised him as a
prophet,
those who coveted his inheritance seized and killed
him.
But you raised him from the dead,
and now through the
power of his resurrection
he stands as the cornerstone of
righteousness,
the first fruits of the kingdom,
and the
incomparable prize towards which we press.
Therefore with
.....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We give you thanks for your Son, Jesus,
who
you raised from the dead,
and who now stands as the cornerstone of
righteousness,
the first fruits of the kingdom,
and the
incomparable prize towards which we press.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
General
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Preface reformatted for use
apart from communion)
We give you all
thanks and praise, O God,
for you have made us you own, through
Christ Jesus,
and given us a new righteousness based on
faith.
You created the entire universe:
the sky tells of
your glory,
day and night reveal the genius of your ways.
You
brought your people out of slavery
and gave them your laws and
commandments,
that they might be rich in Spirit and clear in
vision.
Though we repeatedly rejected your ways
and
destroyed your messengers,
you sent your Son to us to renew
heavenís call.
Though the crowds recognised him as a
prophet,
those who coveted his inheritance seized and killed
him.
But you raised him from the dead,
and now through the
power of his resurrection
he stands as the cornerstone of
righteousness,
the first fruits of the kingdom,
and the
incomparable prize towards which we press.
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 www.laughingbird.net
Declaration
of Grace / Absolution
Though the Word of God brings
our hidden faults to light,
we have a new righteousness through
faith in Christ.
In Christ, our saviour and our rock,
we are
free of blame for sin
and forgiven for every fault.
Sisters
and Brothers,
........your sins are
forgiven;
................be at
peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now in the
righteousness of faith
and live by Godís just demands.
Let
nothing claim your devotion above the Lord,
and count nothing of
value above knowing Christ.
Press on towards the ultimate prize,
of being one with him.
And may Godís perfect word
revive your soul;
May Christ Jesus be your saviour and your
rock;
And may the Holy Spirit strengthen you to press ever onward.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
........In
the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
Paraphrases of the
Scripture Lections
for Proper
22 - Year A - Sunday 5 October 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.
* Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9,
12-20
God spoke the following words to the people:
I am the LORD your God; the one who brought you out of the land where you were oppressed, and freed you from a life of slavery. You are not to have any other gods ahead of me.
You are not to make anything else into an object of devotion ahead of me. I donít care whether it is some heavenly presence, or something in the world around you, or something deep at the core of reality; you are not to dedicate yourself to such things or to worship them.
You are not to exploit my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will not let anyone get away with dragging my name through the mud.
Keep up the practice of making Saturday a dedicated rest day. You are to work on your business, projects, and chores on the other six days, and keep the seventh day as a rest day, dedicated to me, the LORD your God.
Treat those who have raised you with due respect, and your future will be secure in the land that I, the LORD your God, am giving you.
Do not kill anyone.
Do not engage in any relationship that betrays or trivialises someone.
Do not steal what rightly belongs to others.
Do not sacrifice the truth about someone else in order to win your case.
Do not desire things that belong to other people. Do not go wishing you could get your hands on someone elseís home or lover or employees or assets or anything else.
........As God spoke these words,
thunder crashed, lightening flashed, trumpet blasts rang out, and
smoke poured from the mountain. The people were terrified by all
this, and stood at a distance, quaking in their boots. They begged
Moses to do something, saying, ìYou tell us what God wants us
to hear and we will listen; but we will die if you let God go on
speaking to us directly.î
........Moses
replied, ìThere is no need to be afraid. God has come simply
to make sure that you are for real. This will bring you to your knees
before God and keep you on the straight and narrow.î
©2002
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Psalm
19
Your glory is written in the sky,God;
........your
artistry is carved on the face of the earth.
From one day to
another, the message passes on,
........and
each night puts the next one in the know.
Not a word is
spoken,
........not a sound do they
make;
yet their silence reverberates around the earth
........and
their unspoken message echoes from pole to pole.
You made the
sun at home flying across the sky.
........It
takes to its task with the eagerness of a
bridegroom;
................as
exultant as an athlete breasting the tape.
As your messenger, God,
it does its rounds,
........from one
end of the sky to the other,
................warming
everything in its path.
Your revealed will is right on the
mark, LORD;
........it
gives our souls their second wind.
What you says goes,
........and
any fool can wise up by taking note.
Your instructions are
spot on, LORD;
........anyone
who follows them will be glad they did.
What you direct us to do
is easy to see,
........and once
seen, everything become clear.
Respect for you keeps us true,
LORD,
........nothing
can corrupt it, now or ever.
What you decide is always
accurate;
........a fair ruling,
beyond dispute.
Your Word is worth far more
........than
even diamond encrusted gold!
It is sweeter by far
........than
any mouth watering delicacy,
................even
chocolate dipped strawberries with cream!
But thatís
not all!
........Your Word, O LORD,
keeps me out of danger,
................and
following it pays off richly.
Can anyone put their finger on all
their own faults?
........LORD,
eradicate the bugs I havenít even identified yet.
Remind
me not to entertain sour contemptuous thoughts,
........and
donít let them start pulling my strings.
Without them, I
can stay on course,
........and keep
my record clean.
Thatís what I want, O LORD.
........I
want all the things I say,
................and
all the things I mull over in my heart,
........to
be things Iíd be proud to offer to you,
................for
you are the bedrock of my life;
........................the
one who puts me back where I belong.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
*
Philippians 3: 4b-14
........If
anyone starts bragging about their breeding and background to win an
audience, I could trump them every time. Iíve got a pedigree
to die for! Iím a pure blooded Israelite, born into the noble
tribe of Benjamin. I was circumcised when I was eight days old,
exactly as the law prescribes. I was educated by the Pharisees at the
best school, so I know the scriptures inside out, and discipline and
obedience are second nature to me. I was so pumped up with passion
for the purity of religion that I led violent campaigns against
declared heretics, including the church. You could measure me against
the strictest interpretations of the law and Iíd come out with
a perfect record every time.
........Most
people would count all this as the perfect start in life, but I have
come to see it as more of a disadvantage. Why? Because of the
Messiah. You see, the one and only thing that is of real and lasting
value is knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord, and I now realise that
just about everything else gets in the way of that. This is why Iíve
stopped counting my so-called blessings. I used to think that such
things gave me the inside running with God, but I now regard such
thinking as a lot of crap. I have given up clinging to such crappy
ideas, so that I can give myself totally to the Messiah and be
embraced fully by him. Iím no longer interested in how I
measure up to any checklist of religious laws, however worthy it may
be. Godís checklist is the only one that matters to me now and
it only has one item on it. All those who trust Christ get the big
tick from God. What I really want now is to know Christ intimately
and to experience in my own life the power that raised him from the
dead. Iíll do whatever it takes ó Iíll take my
share of his sufferings, Iíll follow him on the road to death
if need be ó because the only thing that matters to me is to
be united with him in his resurrection life.
........Iím
not claiming for a moment that Iíve made it, or that Iíve
now got it all together. Thereís a long way to go, but at
least Iím now on the right track and Iím not giving up.
I know Iíll make it because the Messiah is backing me all the
way. My friends, I donít see myself as the expert in these
things, but I know enough to be sure of which way to go. Iím
taking no further interest in the successes or failures of the past.
Iíve got my eyes firmly fixed on what God has called me to
become, and I wonít let anything stop me until I cross the
line and fall into the waiting arms of Christ.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Matthew
21: 33-46
While speaking with the chief priests and
the political leaders in the Jerusalem Temple, Jesus said, ìListen
to this scenario:
A man owned land in a wine making region. He invested heavily in developing the property: erecting fences, planting vines and building a fully equipped winery. Then he handed responsibility for it to a team of winery operators and went and lived elsewhere. After allowing plenty of time for the fruit to ripen and be picked and processed, the owner sent some of his workers to the winery to collect the first vintage made from his own fruit. But when the workers arrived, the winery operators attacked them viciously, leaving one bruised and beaten, another dead, and a third critically injured. The owner sent a second group of workers ó a larger number this time ó but they too were violently driven off. Finally the landowner sent his own son to the winery, assuming that the operators would respect his son. But when they saw the son coming, they plotted together saying, ëThis is the bloke who stands to inherit this estate. Come on, letís knock him off and claim it for ourselves.í So they grabbed him, dragged him off the property, and killed him. Now, when the Landlord comes to take control, what do you think he will do to those winery operators?î
........They replied, ìHe will
have those murdering thugs strung up by the neck, and he will hand
responsibility for the operations to a new team who will give him the
fruits of his land in due season.î
........Jesus
said to them, ìAnyone would think that you lot had never read
the scripture that says:
ëThe stone the builders tossed out as useless
........is now the one that holds everything together.
This was obviously the work of the Lord,
........and we can hardly believe our eyes!í
And so, Iím
giving you notice; you are to be relieved of any responsibility for
Godís Realm. It will be taken from you and put in the hands of
a people who are up to producing the fruits God expects. Watch out
for this stone: if anyone falls on it, they will be smashed to
pieces; if it falls on anyone, theyíll be
mincemeat.î
........When they
heard what he was saying, the chief priests and the leaders of the
devoutly religious Pharisee party knew that he was pointing the
finger squarely at them. They wanted to have him locked up straight
away, but they were afraid of the public reaction, because the
popular opinion on the streets was that Jesus was a messenger from
God.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
Alternative Hebrew
Bible Lections themed to the Gospel Lection
* Isaiah
5: 1-7
Iíll sing a story in song,
........a
gift of love for my vine-growing friend.
My much loved friend
began a vineyard;
........ideally
situated on a sunny, fertile hillside.
He cleared the rocks,
cultivated the soil,
........and
planted top-grade vines.
He built a well equipped
winery,
........dug a cellar and
installed a wine-press.
He had every reason to expect top-quality
grapes,
........but the entire
harvest was bitter and useless.
Come now, you who live in
Jerusalem,
........and all you people
of Judah;
who do you think is in the right:
........me
or my vineyard?
Did I fall down on the job
somewhere;
........what more could I
have done for my vineyard?
Was I wrong to expect good quality
grapes?
........Why did I get nothing
but rubbish?
Well, Iím sick of that lousy
vineyard.
........Iíll tell
you what Iíll do to it:
I will rip down the
fences
........and let the animals
chew it up;
I will smash the gates down
........and
let the passers-by stomp all over it.
I will leave it in
ruins;
........trashed and
abandoned;
........the weeds and
blackberries will take over.
I will disconnect the water
........and pray that the rain steer
clear.
Are you people getting the message?
The LORD
who rules over everything
........is
the vine-grower,
and you, the people of Israel and
Judah
........are the carefully
tended vineyard.
The LORD expected a harvest
of justice,
........but violence
broke out instead.
Where honesty and integrity should have
flourished,
........there was nothing
but the cries of the victims!
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Psalm
80: 7-15
Come and smile on us again,
God;
........breathe life back into
us and save us.
Remember how you brought us out of Egypt like
a young grapevine,
........so that
you could plant your own vineyard.
You cleared the land and
prepared the soil;
........you
planted our roots deep and we grew strongly.
We grew wide and
high, bigger than the tallest trees,
........even
shading the mountains.
Your vineyard grew and grew till it filled
the land
........from the western
ocean to the eastern river.
So why have you torn down the
security fence,
........so that
anyone can tramp through and pinch the fruit?
Wild pigs rampage
through doing untold damage;
........feral
goats and rabbits eat whateverís left.
Come on, God!
You rule over everything. Do something!
........Turn
around and look at whatís going on.
This vine came from
root stock you planted yourself;
........take
charge of its welfare again.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton www.laughingbird.net