Year
CParaphrases of the Scripture Lections
for the Baptism of the Lord - Year C - Sunday 13 January 2013
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 43:1-7
Listen up, descendants of Jacob,
........this is what the LORD says to you:
“I am the one who created you,
........and formed you into a nation.
Don’t be afraid of anything
........because I have put things right for you;
I have singled you out by name,
........you are safe in my possession.
I will stick with you when you cross through the waters,
........when you ford swollen rivers,
................I’ll get you safely to the other side.
When you walk through fire you won’t be burned,
........flames might surround you,
................but you’ll come out unscathed.
You can depend on this, because I am the LORD who saves you,
........the Holy One, the God of your land.
If need be, I would surrender territory to bail you out,
........hand over whole continents in exchange for you.
I love you and cherish you,
........you are my most treasured possession.
If anyone forces me to choose between you and them,
........I’ll turn my back on them to rescue you.
Do not be afraid, my people, because I’m sticking with you.
........Even if you get scattered all over the world,
................I’ll reunite you from every corner of the globe.
North, south, east and west,
........I’ll leave no stone unturned until I find you all,
until every one of you, my cherished children,
........is free to come home from wherever you’ve ended up.
I’ve marked you out as my chosen ones,
........I’ve written my name on you.
I created each and every one of you
........and you have done me proud,
................you have brought honour and glory to me.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Psalm 29
LORD God, like your angels in heaven
........we speak of you in glowing terms,
........for your glory and strength deserve rave reviews.
We give you a huge wrap, LORD;
........we put up you name in lights
........and hold a huge ticker tape parade
........but it still falls short of the worship you deserve.
Your voice, LORD, rings out like thunder;
........resounding over the waters,
........drowning out even the waves of the sea.
Your voice echoes with power;
........it would bring anyone to their knees.
Your voice, LORD, shatters the Ironbark tree,
........and splinters the Mountain Ash like match sticks.
Your presence makes Mount Bogong jump like a calf;
........Uluru like a rock wallaby.
Your voice, LORD, strikes fire from stone.
The sound of your voice convulses the wilderness;
........the Simpson Desert shudders in labour.
Your voice, LORD, is like a cyclone,
........howling through a rainforest,
........stripping the leaves from the trees.
We all gather to worship and cheer with all our might;
........for you rule forever, LORD,
........and neither surging flood
........nor tidal wave can undermine you.
Give strength to your people, LORD!
........Bless your people with peace!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Acts 8: 14-17
........Philip had been preaching in Samaria and many people there embraced God’s message. The news got back to Jerusalem and the apostles sent Peter and John off to meet with the new believers. When they got there, they found that although the people had been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to them. So Peter and John placed their hands on them and prayed for them and, sure enough, they all received God’s Holy Spirit.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
........The activities of John the Baptiser struck a chord with the deep yearning for a national saviour, and people began to speculate that perhaps John might be the one who God had chosen. John was quick to hose down such ideas, saying, “I’m only baptising you with water. The One who is coming is way out of my league — the chance to polish his boots would be more than I could aspire to. When he gets started, it won’t be just water that he’ll be immersing you in. He’ll baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He’s ready to start with his flame thrower in hand. He’ll release an uncontrollable fire into the dry bushland of your lives, completely incinerating the rubbish and germinating the good seeds that lie in wait for that day.”
........Now among all the people coming to be baptised, Jesus himself came and was baptised. As he was praying the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit came down bodily, like a diving kookaburra, and took hold of him. And a voice filled the air, saying, “You are my Son; my love personified. You fill me with pride.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net