Year
C
Fourth Sunday of
Pascha
21 April 2013
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 are the shepherd
who
guides us to springs of life-giving water.
You spread out
creation like a rich banquet and,
forming us from the dust of the
earth,
you raised us to life and opened our eyes.
You chose a
people to be your flock,
tending them with goodness and
love.
Your child, Jesus, came working in your name.
You
placed those who belonged to you
into the safety of his hands
and
they recognised your voice in him.
When he was cast into death’s
dark valley,
you raised him to new life.
Now he lives forever
and shepherds all who look to you for salvation.
You wipe the
tears from our eyes
and spread a table before us
so that we
might feed forever
from your abundant goodness
and hunger and
thirst no more.
Therefore with .....
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We thank you for your child, Jesus,
who
shepherds all who look to you for salvation,
wiping the tears from
our eyes and spreading a table before us
so that we might feed
forever from your abundant goodness.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
General
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Preface reformatted for use
apart from communion)
We give you all
thanks and praise, O God,
for you are the shepherd
who guides
us to springs of the water of life.
You spread out creation
like a rich banquet,
and forming us from the dust of the
earth,
you raised us to life and opened our eyes.
You chose a
people to be your flock,
tending them with goodness and
love.
Your child, Jesus, came working in your name.
You
placed those who belonged to you
into the safety of his hands
and
they recognised your voice in him.
When he was cast into death’s
dark valley,
you raised him to new life.
Now he lives forever
and shepherds all who look to you for salvation.
You wipe the
tears from our eyes
and nourish us with your abundant goodness
so
that we hunger and thirst no more.
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.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Declaration
of Grace / Absolution
Salvation
belongs to our God!
At the cost of his own blood,
the Lamb of
God has washed you clean.
You who follow Christ
can never be
snatched out of his hand.
Sisters and Brothers,
........your
sins are forgiven;
................be
at peace.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now, following the voice of
the shepherd.
Fear no evil, for God is by your side.
Devote
yourselves to the works of God,
to words of mercy, to good deeds
and to acts of love.
And may God wipe every tear from your
eyes;
May Christ Jesus be your shepherd and all that you need;
And
may the Holy Spirit tend you with goodness and love
........all
the days of your lives.
We go in peace to love and serve the
Lord,
........In the name of
Christ. Amen.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Paraphrases
of the Scripture
Lections
for the Fourth Sunday
of Pascha - Year C - 21 April 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.
* Acts 9: 36-43
........There
was a disciple named Tabitha who lived in the town of Joppa. She was
also known by the Greek version of her name — Dorcas. She was a
very generous woman who never missed an opportunity to pitch in and
do something for others; especially the needy. One day she got sick.
She went downhill quickly and in no time she was dead. The other
disciples prepared her body for burial in the customary way, and laid
her out in an upstairs room so her friends could pay their last
respects.
........Peter was in the
neighbouring town of Lydda at the time, and news of his presence
quickly reached the disciples in Joppa. They sent two of their number
over to Lydda to ask Peter to come quickly and be with them for the
funeral. Peter got up and went with them straight away. When he
arrived, they took him in to view the body. The room was full of
older women — most of them widows who had appreciated Tabitha’s
care — and the tears flowed freely. Several of them began showing
Peter the coats that Tabitha had made and the jumpers she had knitted
while she was still with them.
........Peter
asked to be left alone with the body for a few minutes, and when
everyone was out of the room, he knelt down and prayed. Then he
turned, looked directly at the body, and said, “Tabitha, get
up.”
........Sure enough, she
opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Peter gave her
his hand and helped her to her feet. Then he opened the door and
called in the gathered Christians and the widows, and presented
Tabitha to them, alive. Word of this spread like wildfire, and many
people in Joppa put their trust in the Lord as a result. Peter spent
the next few days in Joppa, staying in the home of a leather-worker
named Simon.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 23
You, LORD, are my
guide in the wilderness;
........there
is nothing more I could need.
You set up camp in places of
beauty and shelter;
........you lead
the way on secluded tracks
................beside
creeks of cool clean water.
I feel my spirit breathing freely
again;
........your reputation puts
me at ease;
................I leave
the navigating to you, and follow.
Even if we hike through a
perilous valley,
........where crows
keep a menacing watch,
................fear
will still not get the better of me.
As long as I stick with
you
........I know I’ll make the
distance;
with a knife and a bit of rope
........you
seem able to tackle any challenge.
You cook up a feast for
me,
........as those who wanted to
feed on me watch, frustrated.
You pamper me like an honoured
guest
........and constantly top up
my glass.
My life feels charmed, each and every
day.
........Love, mercy and all good
things
................keep falling
into my lap.
I’m with you for life, LORD,
........where
you go, I’ll go;
................where
you live, I’ll live.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Revelation 7: 9-17
........I
had a vision of an enormous crowd, bigger than anyone could ever
count. It was made up of people from every nation; from all the
different ethnic groups, cultural groups and language groups. They
were all standing together before the throne and before the Lamb of
God. They were dressed in white robes and were waving banners and
throwing flowers in the air. Their voices rose as one — an enormous
roar — saying:
........“The
life into which we have been saved
........belongs
to our God who is seated on the throne,
........and
to the Lamb of our God.”
Around the throne stood the four
awesome creatures, and around them stood the twenty four elders, and
around them stood all the angels. All together they fell to their
knees before the throne, with their faces to the ground, and
worshipped God, singing:
........“So
say all of us!
........May glory and
wisdom
........and gratitude and
honour
........and authority and
strength
........and every good
thing
........be given to our God,
........from now to
forever!
........So say all of
us!
........Then one of the
elders came and spoke to me, saying, “What can you tell me about
these people in white robes? Who are they, and where have they come
from?”
........I replied, “I’m
not sure, Sir, but you have the answers.”
........Then
he said to me, “These are the people who have come through the
ultimate atrocity. They have washed their robes as white as snow in
the blood of the lamb.
........For
this reason they now have the privilege
................of
gathering before the throne of God,
........and
there in the Temple they serve God, day and
night,
................and the one
who is seated on the throne
........................provides
them refuge and safe shelter.
........Never
again will they go hungry;
................never
again will they go thirsty;
........never
again will they be burned by the sun,
................or
left exposed to any searing heat.
........The
Lamb who is at the centre of the throne
................has
guided them through the wilderness
........................and
will now care for them forever.
........He
will wipe every tear from their eyes
................and
guide them to crystal clear springs
........................where
the water of life bubbles up freely.”
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
John 10: 22-30
........In
the middle of winter, at the time when the Jewish festival of
Hanukkah is celebrated, Jesus was in Jerusalem. One day he was in the
Temple and, as he walked through the part known as Solomon’s Porch,
a group of religious loyalists surrounded him and began demanding
some answers: “How long are you going to keep holding your cards to
your chest? If you are God’s Anointed One, come right out and say
it.”
........Jesus answered, “I’ve
already laid my cards on the table, but you don’t take what I say
seriously. If you want to know who I am, then look at what I do,
because everything I do is done on my Father’s behalf. You lot
still won’t believe though, because you’re not among those who
have had me as their guide. Those who have, pick my voice every time.
I know them well and they know to respond to my voice and to put
their feet in my footsteps. I give them life without limit; life they
will never lose. No one can ever drag them out of the safety of my
hands. Their care is the greatest responsibility of all, and my
Father has entrusted it to me. They can no more be dragged out of my
hands than out of my Father’s. The Father and I are one on
this.”
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net