Year
B
First Sunday of Christmas
Sunday
28 December 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 fulfilled your
promises
and clothed us in the garments of salvation
and the
robes of righteousness.
Your Word called forth the earth, sky
and glittering stars
and your splendour is expressed in all
creation.
Through your prophets,
you called your people to be
a fertile garden,
bringing forth a harvest of righteousness and
praise.
And now in the fullness of time,
our eyes have seen
your salvation come.
Born of a woman
and growing in strength
and wisdom,
he fulfilled the life-long yearnings
of those
awaiting your redemption.
Rising up as a sign of your grace
and
exposing the truth in our hearts,
he was opposed by many, and
crucified,
but you raised him to life
and opened the way of
salvation
so that we might be adopted as your children and
heirs.
Therefore with .....
©2002
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We give you thanks for your child, Jesus,
who
was born of a woman
and grew in strength and wisdom
to fulfil
the yearnings of all
who long to be adopted as your children and
heirs.
©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 fulfilled your promises
and
clothed us in the garments of salvation
and the robes of
righteousness.
Your Word called forth the earth, sky and
glittering stars
and your splendour is expressed in all
creation.
Through your prophets,
you called your people to be
a fertile garden,
bringing forth a harvest of righteousness and
praise.
And now in the fullness of time,
our eyes have seen
your salvation come.
Born of a woman
and growing in strength
and wisdom,
he fulfilled the life-long yearnings
of those
awaiting your redemption.
Rising up as a sign of your grace
and
exposing the truth in our hearts,
he was opposed by many, and
crucified,
but you raised him to life
and opened the way of
salvation
so that we might be adopted as your children and
heirs.
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
When the fullness of time had
come,
God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under the law,
in
order to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might
receive adoption as God’s children.
Sisters and
Brothers,
........your sins are
forgiven;
................be at
peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Depart now in peace, for
your eyes have seen the salvation
which God has prepared for all
people.
Grow in strength and wisdom
and bring forth a harvest
of righteousness and praise.
And may God smile upon you and
make you strong and wise;
May Christ Jesus share his inheritance
with you freely;
And may the Holy Spirit open your eyes to the
presence of God’s Messiah.
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 the 1st
Sunday of Christmas - Year B - Sunday 28 December 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 61:10 - 62:3
Because of the LORD,
I will sing and dance in celebration;
........everything
inside me is bursting with joy over my God.
The LORD
has decked me out in the splendour
........of
faithfulness and integrity,
................clothes
fit to celebrate a dream come true.
I am like a bride and groom
dressed for a wedding;
........with
flowers and jewels and everything done just right.
Indeed,
just as the earth brings forth its vegetation,
........and
just as rich soil causes seeds to sprout and grow,
so too the Lord
GOD will produce a bumper crop of honesty and
integrity,
........and all the world
will see it and give due credit to God.
For the sake of the
holy city, I will say what needs to be said;
........for
the sake of her people, I will not let up.
I will continue until
everything has been put right for God’s people;
........until
the beauty of the city has been restored
................and
shines like the blazing sun at dawn.
People of
God,
........the whole world will see
that everything has been put right for you;
................the
rulers of every nation will see you bathed in glory.
........You
will become known by a new name,
................a
wonderful name, given to you personally by the LORD.
........You
will be the most beautiful jewel in the LORD’s
crown;
................the
hand-picked crowning glory of your God.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Psalm
148
We sing your praises, LORD!
From
every corner of the universe,
........from
high and low, near and far,
................we
join the chorus of praise!
With the angels and all who serve
you in heaven,
........we sing your
praises!
With the sun and moon, stars and planets,
........we
sing your praises!
With far flung galaxies and the milky
way,
........we sing your
praises!
All of them speak of you in glowing terms,
LORD,
........for
they owe their very existence to you.
You ordered their
creation
........and fixed them in
place for all time.
We sing your praises, LORD!
Every
creature on earth joins the choir,
........singing
your praises for all they’re worth:
................dolphins
and whales
........................and
the ocean itself;
................bushfire
and hail storm,
........................snow
and ice,
................................cyclones
dancing to your tune;
................mountain
ranges and rolling hills,
........................orchards
and rainforests,
................animals
from both bush and farm,
........................reptiles
and birds;
................people of
every race and class,
........................people
of power and influence;
................men
and women, old and young,
........................every
voice on earth joins as one!
One and all, we sing your
praises, LORD,
........yours
is the only name on our lips!
........You
alone outshine the glory of the universe!
You have given
strength to your people,
........and
honour to your faithful ones,
to those you have chosen
........and
hold close to your heart.
You, LORD, are
the greatest!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
* Galatians
4:4-7
When the clock had run down and the time was
right,
........God sent a
rescuer,
................God’s
own Son;
........born to a woman in
the usual way,
................growing
up under the thumb of the law,
........................just
like the rest of God’s people.
God sent him into such
circumstances
........so that he
could get everyone else out of them;
paying the price of our
freedom
........and giving us the
opportunity
................to be
adopted into God’s family.
Because you are now God’s
children,
........the Spirit of God’s
child, Jesus,
................has
been sent into your hearts;
........the
Spirit who makes us as eager for God
................as
children running into their parents’
arms
........................crying,
“Daddy! Mummy!”
So you are no longer at the beck
and call
........of those things
which once dictated your every move;
now you are God’s own
children,
........and as God’s
children, you will receive from God
................all
that has been kept in trust for God’s children.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Luke
2: 22-40
........Forty
days after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary went up to the
Jerusalem temple to undergo the purification ritual required by the
religious law. They took Jesus with them, and offered the sacrifice
which the law of the Lord required of new parents. In their case,
because they could not afford much, the required sacrifice was “a
pair of young pigeons or doves.” While they were at the Temple,
they took the opportunity to make the ritual presentation of the baby
to the Lord. This too was in line with God’s law, for it
specified that “every firstborn son will be marked out as being
dedicated to the Lord.”
........A
man named Simeon came into the temple that day at the prompting of
the Spirit. Simeon was a man of deep integrity and prayer; a man
clearly under the influence of the Holy Spirit. He was living in
eager anticipation of the day when the sorrows of God’s people
would be brought to an end, and the Holy Spirit had let him know that
he would see the Lord’s chosen Messiah in person before he
died. So when Joseph and Mary brought the child into the temple to do
all the customary things that the law required, Simeon was there. He
took Jesus in his arms, and began to praise God in prayer, saying:
“At last you are letting your servant go in peace, Lord,
........just as you promised you would;
for now, with my own eyes,
........I have seen your rescue operation underway.
I have seen the launch of the life you have been preparing
........in the midst of the world and its peoples;
I have seen the light which will make you known to the nations,
........the light which will have your people basking in glory.”
........The parents couldn’t
believe their ears when they heard what was being said about their
child. Simeon gave them both a blessing, and spoke to the child’s
mother, Mary, saying, “This child is destined to be the making
or breaking of many people in Israel. He will be a sign of what God
is now up to, and many people will turn against him, and thus expose
what they are really made of. And as for you, his mother, it will
tear your heart out.”
........There
was also an elderly prophet in the temple that day. Her name was
Anna, and she was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher.
She was eighty four years old, and had lived as a widow ever since
her husband had died after only seven years of marriage. She spent
all her time in the temple, worshipping God there, day and night,
with prayer and great discipline. As Mary and Joseph presented the
child in the temple, Anna came up and began to speak of how wonderful
God is. She spoke about the child to all those who were looking
forward to the day when everything would be put right again for
Jerusalem.
........When the family
had completed everything that the law of the Lord required of them,
they headed back north to Galilee, to their home town of Nazareth.
The child grew up strong and healthy, with a wise head on his
shoulders, and showing every indication that God was pleased with
him.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net