Year
CParaphrases of the Scripture Lections
for the First Sunday of Lent - Year C - 21 February 2010
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.
* Deuteronomy 26: 1-11
........The LORD your God is giving you the land, and soon you will take ownership of it, settle down there, and plant your crops. When you begin harvesting each crop, you are to take a basketful of the first pickings and take it to the place chosen by the LORD as the place of worship. You are to present yourself to whoever is the priest at the time, saying, “I am here to give thanks to the LORD our God, for I have put down roots in the land the LORD promised to our ancestors.”
........Then the priest will accept the basket of produce from you and place it in front of the sacred altar of the LORD. As he does, you are to pray to the LORD in the words of the prayer which tells the story of your people:
........“I am descended from a refugee,
................an Aramean who settled in Egypt.
........His family was small when they arrived,
................but they expanded quickly in numbers and power.
........We were forced into slavery to keep us in check;
................the labour was hard and the treatment was harsh.
........We cried out to you, LORD, God of our ancestors,
................and you heard our prayers;
........you saw how we were oppressed,
................and felt the weight of our suffering.
........You rescued us from the land of slavery, LORD.
................With miraculous signs and a terrifying display of strength,
........................you broke us free and got us out.
........You brought us here to this wonderful land,
................a land of peaches and cream.
........So now, LORD, I am here to say thank you;
................I give you the first of my crops,
........................the pick of all you have given me.”
........After your basket has been placed in front of the altar, and you have prayed this prayer, you are to bow down, worshipping the LORD your God. Then, with your whole community, throw a big party to celebrate and enjoy the good harvest which the LORD God has given you. Don’t forget to send an open invitation to the attendants from the place of worship and to any refugees who have settled in the neighbourhood to share in the celebration.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16
Your greatness and strength are our shelter, LORD;
........we can live secure in your shade.
We call you our refuge, our place of safety;
........you are the God in whom we trust.
We have nothing to fear because we have found safety in you;
........we have settled down within your care.
Thanks to you, LORD of the universe, no evil can touch us;
........disaster can not get a foot in the door.
You have instructed your angels to look after us;
........made it their job to protect us wherever we go.
You’ve told them to catch us when we fall;
........to keep us from coming to grief on hidden snags.
With your help we can face any danger;
........we can stare down crocodiles and Tiger snakes.
Those who know you and love you can depend on you,
........you are always there to pull them out of trouble.
The moment they call, you answer;
........you’re on their side when all hell breaks loose;
........you save their lives and throw a party in their honour.
You give them long and fulfilling lives, LORD;
........they will see the realisation of all you have promised.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Romans 10: 8b-13
........“The Word that saves is with you;
................it is on the tip of your tongue;
........................it is beating in your heart.”
This is the message we’ve been preaching and it’s all about trust. If you put that trust into words, declaring that Jesus is the one you answer to; and embrace that trust in your heart, believing that Jesus lives because God raised him from the dead, then you will be put back on the right track with God. That’s what salvation is! When anyone allows that trust in God to rewrite the basic beliefs they live by, their heart is put right with God; and when those rewritten beliefs are expressed openly in what they say and do, then you know they are safely in God’s care. The scriptures back this up, saying, “No one who trusts God will ever be let down.” Your ethnic or religious background makes no difference in this: there is only one God, and that one God has the last word on everyone. God is equally generous to all those who call out in trust for help. As the saying goes, “Anyone who wants help from God only has to ask.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net
* Luke 4: 1-13
........When Jesus left the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit was pulsing through him and active in everything he did. At the prompting of the Spirit, Jesus went bush by himself in a remote area. He spent forty days out there without eating at all, and by the end of the time he could have eaten a horse. During the forty days, the devil tried every trick in the book to throw him off-track. In one instance, playing on his hunger, the devil said, “If you are really the Son of God, prove it! Say the word and turn this rock into a loaf of bread.”
........Jesus answered him, “As the scriptures say, ‘It takes a lot more than bread to make life worth living.’”
........After that, the devil took Jesus up to a lookout with a panoramic view of every nation and state in the whole world. The devil said to him, “I can make the world your oyster. I can give you the power to accomplish everything you want, everywhere on earth. I’ve been given power over the whole lot, and I can delegate it to whoever I like. All you have to do is worship me — just acknowledge me as number one — and it’s all yours.”
........But Jesus was not taken in. He said, “The scriptures leave no doubt about who we are to call number one: ‘Worship the Lord your God and no other. Give your whole-hearted service to the Lord your God and no other.’”
........With that the devil decided to try quoting scripture too. Taking Jesus to Jerusalem and standing him on top of the Temple’s highest tower, the devil said, “If you are really the Son of God, prove it to everyone. Throw yourself off the top of this tower so that God can fulfil the scriptures that say:
........‘God will instruct the angels to protect you from danger,’
........‘They will catch you as you fall
................and you won’t so much as stub your toe on the rocks below.’”
But Jesus couldn’t be budged. He replied, “The scriptures also say, ‘Don’t go trying to test out the Lord your God.’”
........After trying everything to get through Jesus’ defences, the devil backed off and laid low, waiting for a weak moment to have another go.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net