Year
B
Proper 14
Sunday
9 August 2015
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 sent us the bread
of heaven.
You created the heavens and the earth,
and all
your creatures draw their life from you.
Even when we have
rebelled against you,
you have never left us hanging in fear
or
crying from the depths.
In love and mercy you hear our yearning
prayers
and mark us out for the day of redemption.
You sent
to us your Son, Jesus Christ,
the bread of life for our deepest
hunger,
and you drew us to him that we might learn from him.
When
the world turned against him,
he gave himself up, in the fullness
of love,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to you
for the life
of the whole world,
so that we and all who trust him
might
feed on him and have life without limit.
Therefore with
.....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who
gave himself up as a fragrant offering
for the life of the whole
world,
so that we and all who trust him
might feed on him, the
bread of life,
and have life without limit.
©2003
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 yu have drawn us to yourself in
Christ,
and will raise us to life on teh last day.
You
created the heavens and the earth,
and all your creatures draw
their life from you.
Even when we have rebelled against you,
you
have never left us hanging in fear
or crying from the depths.
In
love and mercy you hear our yearning prayers
and mark us out for
the day of redemption.
You sent to us your Son, Jesus
Christ,
the bread of life for our deepest hunger,
and you drew
us to him that we might learn from him.
When the world turned
against him,
he gave himself up, in the fullness of love,
a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to you
for the life of the whole
world,
so that we and all who trust him
might have life
without limit.
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.
©2003
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
Declaration
of Grace / Absolution
If the Lord recorded our
sins, no one could survive,
but God’s capacity for
forgiveness is extraordinary.
The Lord will bring mercy and grant
full pardon.
Sisters and Brothers,
........your
sins are forgiven;
................be
at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go out and imitate God,
living in love.
Put your hope in God’s Word
and let your
own words be truthful and constructive.
May sin rouse your anger,
........but never let anger cause
you to sin.
Don’t allow any room for evil.
And may
God always hear your voice.
May Christ Jesus raise you to new
life;
and may the Holy Spirit nourish you for the life of
love.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
........In
the name of Christ. Amen.
©2003
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
Paraphrases of the
Scripture Lections
for Proper
14 - Year B - Sunday 9 August 2015
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.
* 2 Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33
........King
David’s army, led by Joab and his officers, was preparing for
battle against the Israelites who had rebelled with Absalom. David
briefed them before they marched out, saying, “Absalom is still
my son, so for my sake, capture him unharmed.” He gave these
orders to the commanders, but all the troops heard what he said about
Absalom.
........With that, they
headed out against the Israelite army. The battle was fought in the
Ephraim forest and it spread out on several fronts. David’s men
defeated the Israelite army that day, but it was a horrible
bloodbath. Twenty thousand men died in the carnage and the dangerous
forest terrain claimed as many victims again.
........Absalom
ran into a patrol of David’s men, led by Joab. He was pushing
through a narrow track on his mule alone. Passing under the low
branches of a great oak, Absalom’s thick hair got caught in the
branches and dragged him off the back of the mule which continued on
its way. Absalom was left hanging in mid air, unable to get up or
down. The patrol found him hanging there and they killed him. Joab
stuck the first spears in and then ten of his men surrounded him and
finished Absalom off.
........An
Ethiopian runner was sent to to David to report on the outcome of the
battle. He said to David, “Your Majesty, I bring you good news!
The LORD has set things right for you today, making you safe from
those who rebelled against you.”
........The
king said to the messenger, “What about Absalom? Is he okay?”
........The Ethiopian answered, “May
all your enemies and anyone who wishes you harm, my king, meet the
same fate that Absalom has met today.”
........The
king was distraught. He disappeared into the nearest room, convulsed
with grief. Through his tears he cried out over and over, “O my
son Absalom! My son, my son, Absalom! If only I could’ve died
instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
©2000
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Psalm
130
From the depths of despair, from rock
bottom,
........I cry to you, O
LORD.
................I
beg you to listen!
Please tune in and hear what I’m asking!
If you put black marks against our names
........for
every failing,
........Lord, wouldn’t
you have to write off everyone?
But forgiveness is much more
your style,
........and for this we
adore you.
I wait in eager anticipation for your presence,
LORD.
........Everything
inside me yearns for you
........and
your promises fill me with hope.
Deep in my guts there is a
hunger for you, LORD,
........more
pressing than a woman
................waiting
for the birth of her baby,
........more
impatient than a child
................waiting
for a birthday;
................crossing
off the days, one by one.
O People of Israel, put your trust
in the LORD!
........The
LORD’s love never lets us down,
........and
is always ready to rescue us from danger.
It is the LORD
who will bail us out
........when we
are caught in the consequences
................of
our own sin.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton
www.laughingbird.net
* Ephesians 4:25 -
5:2
........Recognising
that we are all parts of the one body, let’s give up all
pretence. It’s time to come out from behind our masks and get
fair dinkum with one another. No doubt there are times when it’s
right to get angry, but make sure your response is right too.
Justifiable anger doesn’t justify vengefulness, bitterness or
any other sin. And when you’re angry, deal with the issues as
soon as you can. Dragging it out just gives the devil a chance to get
his foot in the door.
........Those
who’ve been stealing to make ends meet need to change their
ways. It’s time they applied their skills to some honest trade
and hopefully before long they will have enough to give something to
others in need.
........And all of
you, watch your mouths. Don’t allow any venom or malice to pass
your lips. Instead let every word be constructive and generous. Talk
up what is good. That way what you have to say will be welcomed as a
gift.
........You are now identified
as God’s people — the signs of the Holy Spirit mark you
out as those destined for life when the day of freedom finally comes.
So don’t go causing any grief to the Holy Spirit or making God
ashamed to be associated with you. There are some things you should
quit completely — resentment, vindictiveness, mudslinging, and
any underhanded or malicious behaviour. Try living up to these labels
instead — big-hearted, compassionate, tolerant. Try to be as
generous in forgiving each other as God was with you. Children learn
by imitating the parents they love. Take a tip from them and model
yourself on what you’ve seen of God in Christ. Or in other
words, live a life of love — love that doesn’t stop at
anything. Christ’s love for us cost him everything, and there
is no more pleasing gift anyone can give to God than a love that is
willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of others.
©2000
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* John
6: 35, 41-51
........Jesus
said to them, “I am the bread of life. Anyone who comes on
board with me will never hunger or thirst again. Put your trust in me
and you will always be satisfied.”
........Because
of this, people began to grumble about him. They objected to him
claiming to be the bread that came from heaven. They muttered to one
another saying, “What does he take us for? We know who he is -
Jesus, Joe’s lad. Is he forgetting that we know his mum and
dad? How does he expect us to take him seriously when he says, ‘I
have come from heaven’?”
Jesus answered them:
....“Don’t go getting all worked up over me. The One who sent me is responsible for drawing people to me — otherwise no one would come. I’ll always be there for those who do come - each and every one of them. Even on the last day, I’ll be there, raising them to new life. One of the prophets put it this way, ‘Every last one of them will learn directly from God.’ So everyone who really tunes in to God and takes in what they hear will recognise who I am, and come to learn from me. Everyone wants to learn from an eyewitness and the only person who has seen God is the one who came from God. No one else has. Let me set you straight on this: whoever has faith has life — life without limit.
....I am the bread of life. Sure, your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they still died. Now it’s different. Now the real bread has come from heaven and you can eat it and be protected from death forever. I am the bread — living bread — straight from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live life without end and without limit. The bread that I’m offering is my own flesh, and I give it for the life of the world.”
©2000
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
Alternative
Hebrew Bible Lections themed to the Gospel Lection
* 1
Kings 19: 4-8
........In
fear for his life, Elijah went off-road and pushed on alone into the
scrub. After a day of that, he was in utter despair. He collapsed
under the only tree for miles that offered any shade and spilled his
guts, saying, “I can’t take any more, LORD.
Just kill me now! I’m as good as dead
anyway.”
........Exhausted, he
fell asleep where he lay. Suddenly someone tapped him on the
shoulder, saying, “Get up and eat.”
........Elijah
looked around and there, just near his head, was a cake of damper
bread and a full water bottle. He ate and drank and then went back to
sleep. The messenger of the LORD came to him
again, tapping him on the shoulder and saying, “Get up and eat,
or you’ll never survive the journey ahead.”
........So
Elijah got up and ate and drank his fill. That meal gave him the
strength to push on for forty days and nights until he reached Mount
Sinai — God’s own mountain.
©2003
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Psalm
34: 1-8
I will speak up in your favour, every chance I
get, LORD.
........Every
time I open my mouth, I’ll sing your praises.
Everything
I’m proud of is your doing, LORD;
........the
news of your goodness puts a smile on the face of the helpless.
I’ll
put the spotlight on you, LORD;
........and
gather a crowd to spread the word.
When I pounded on your
door, LORD, you opened up;
........you
calmed my fears and put my mind at rest.
Those who look to you
light up with joy;
........their
faces never grow dark with shame.
When I had nothing, I cried
out, LORD, and you answered;
........you
got me out of some serious trouble.
You station your angels to
watch over those who trust you;
........they
watch us, guard us, and get us safely through.
May everyone
taste for themselves how good you are, LORD;
........may
everyone find shelter in you and be happy.
©2000
Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net