Year
C
Day of
Pentecost
Sunday 19 May 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 pour your Spirit upon
us,
arousing us with visions and dreams
and intoxicating us
with an uncontainable fervour
to proclaim your truth in the
language of praise.
You sent forth your Spirit to create the
universe,
and fill it with your wonders.
You breathed into us
and we rose from the dust,
the face of the earth came alive.
In
these last days your child, Jesus Christ,
came speaking your words
and doing your works;
revealing the truth of who you are.
He
was crucified,
but you raised him to glory by your life-giving
power.
Having secured our adoption as your children
and
commissioned us to continue his works,
he poured out your Holy
Spirit on us,
setting our hearts ablaze with a passion for
peace,
and firing our tongues with everlasting songs of
joy.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We thank you for pouring out your Spirit upon
us,
arousing us with visions and dreams
and intoxicating us
with an uncontainable fervour
to proclaim your truth in the
language of praise.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
General
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Preface reformatted for use
apart from communion)
Thanks and praise
erupt from our lips, O Lord,
for you pour your Spirit upon
us,
arousing us with visions and dreams
and intoxicating us
with an uncontainable fervour
to proclaim your truth in the
language of praise.
You sent forth your Spirit to create the
universe,
and fill it with your wonders.
You breathed into us
and we rose from the dust,
the face of the earth came alive.
In
these last days your child, Jesus Christ,
came speaking your words
and doing your works;
revealing the truth of who you are.
He
was crucified,
but you raised him to glory by your life-giving
power.
Having secured our adoption as your children
and
commissioned us to continue his works,
he poured out your Holy
Spirit on us,
setting our hearts ablaze with a passion for
peace,
and firing our tongues with everlasting songs of
joy.
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
Do not
let your hearts be troubled,
for everyone who calls out to the
Lord will be saved.
You have been adopted as children of God
and
the Holy Spirit lives with you and in you.
Sisters and
Brothers,
........your sins are
forgiven;
................be at
peace.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
Love Christ and do the things he has done.
Dream
dreams, pursue visions
and speak of God’s wonders
in the
words of those who would hear.
And may God give you the Spirit
of Truth forever;
May Christ Jesus work for you as you work for
him;
and may the Holy Spirit bear witness within you
to the
love and peace that are yours in Christ.
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 Day of
Pentecost - Year C - Sunday 19 May 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 2: 1-21
........On
the Feast Day of Pentecost all the believers were together in one
place. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, there was a sound like a
raging cyclone - and nothing could be heard above it anywhere in the
house. And then the Holy Spirit burst in among them like a bushfire,
with sparks and fireballs leaping out to engulf every one there. With
fire in their guts and the Holy Spirit unleashing their tongues, they
began to speak of God in languages they had never learned.
........Now in Jerusalem at that
time, there were faithful Jewish pilgrims from all over the world.
The wild noise among the believers quickly drew a crowd. What they
heard bewildered them because everyone, no matter where they were
from, heard their native language being spoken by the believers.
Almost unable to believe their ears, they asked:
“Don’t all
these people come from Galilee? How come we can all hear them
speaking our own native languages? Some of us are Parthians, some
Medes, others Elamites. There are people visiting here from
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the Cyrenene occupied parts of Libya. There are
immigrants from Rome, both ethnic Jews and converts. Some here are
even Cretans and Arabs! But these Galileans are speaking all our
languages and telling us about the extraordinary things God has
done.”
........They were all in a
spin, unable to make head nor tail of what was happening. They kept
asking one another what was going on and what it could all mean.
Others though, just sneered and said, “They’ve been on the turps.
They’re just a bunch of drunks.”
........Peter
stood up with the other eleven and addressed the crowd as loudly and
clearly as he could:
“Men and women of Jerusalem, locals and
visitors, listen up and I’ll let you in on what this is all about.
If you think that these people are drunk, you are wrong. Think about
it - the pubs aren’t even open this early in the morning. No, what
is happening here was explained long ago in the words of the prophet
Joel:
........“This is what I will
do
................when time reaches
its climax, God declares:
........I
will pour out my Spirit on everyone.
........Your
sons and your daughters
................shall
speak as prophets.
........The young
among you will see visions,
................and
the old will dream dreams.
........I
even have men and women among those
................whose
rights no one cares about,
........and
in those days
................I will
pour out my Spirit upon them too;
........................and
they shall proclaim my justice.
........I
will perform miraculous signs in the sky above
................and
awesome wonders on the earth below,
........................blood,
and fire, and clouds of smoke.
........The
sun will go black and the moon blood-red
................before
the dawning
........................of
the awesome and glorious day of the Lord.
........And
everyone who cries out to the Lord
................shall
be saved.”
©2000 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Genesis 11: 1-9
In ancient times, everyone in
the whole world spoke the same language and could understand each
other clearly. As the human race spread out towards the East, they
settled the plains region in an area known as Shinar. Once there, an
enormous project was proposed:
“Come one and all, let’s build ourselves a great city with the world’s tallest skyscraper. Let’s use the latest technology: kiln-fired bricks instead of stone, and bitumen instead of mortar. Let’s earn ourselves a global reputation for innovation and excellence. If we don’t, we’ll be nothing but mediocre little mobs, scattered all over the world!”
So the project was begun, and the LORD
came down for a look. Seeing the construction of the city and the
skyscraper underway, the LORD said:
“Look, these people are getting too big for their boots, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. United by a common language and common ambition, there will be no stopping them. Come, let us go down and reprogram their tongues so that they will begin to speak in different languages and not be able to understand each other.”
So the LORD split them up into different
language groups and scattered them across the face of the globe. The
construction of the city was abandoned. The place came to be known as
Babel because it was there that the peoples’ languages became like
confused babble to one another and they fragmented into estranged and
distant populations.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 104: 24-34, 35b
O
LORD, what a wildly fabulous world!
........Working hand in hand with
wisdom
........you have made
........an earthful of wonderful
creatures.
Just look at the deep wide sea,
........swarming
with life beyond our imagining,
........from
coral to crayfish, from mussels to marlin.
Ships plough the waves,
........while mythical monsters
cavort in the depths.
Like seagulls at a picnic,
........every
creature looks to you for food.
They gather around in eager
expectation,
........and gorge
themselves when you open your hand.
If you turned your back,
they’d be panic stricken;
........if
you withdrew your Spirit
........they
would have nothing to breathe,
........their
bodies would quickly crumble.
But when you breathe your spirit
into them,
........life sprouts up
fresh and fragrant again
........and
the earth itself is revived.
Glorious is all you do,
LORD,
........may
you be honoured forever.
........May
everything created be a joy to the LORD.
One
look from the LORD makes even the earth
quiver;
........one touch and even
the mountains erupt.
With every breath I will sing to the
LORD;
........as
long as there is life in me,
................I
will give honour to my God in song.
Even my unspoken thoughts
I offer to the LORD,
........for
the LORD is a delight to me.
May wickness
be wiped from the earth,
........may
enemies of life no longer be found.
O bless the LORD,
everything within me.
........Praise
the LORD!
©2000 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Romans 8: 14-17
........All
those who dance to the Spirit’s tune are God’s beloved children.
We were not sold into slavery where we would grovel timidly in the
dust, afraid to put a foot wrong. Rather we were adopted into a
family full of love and joy. Like eager children crying, “Daddy!
Mummy!” we come running to God, and with loving arms, God’s
Spirit gathers us up, demonstrating clearly to whom we belong. And
since we are children of God, we are actually on the same footing as
Christ. With him we will inherit all that has been kept in trust for
God’s children. But we have to take the good with the bad, and we
know the price he paid. We need to be willing to cop it on the chin
with him now if we want to share the glory with him later.
©2000
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
John 14: 8-17, (25-27)
........Philip
said to Jesus, “Lord, if you’d just show us the Father, we’d be
more than happy.”
........Jesus
replied, “All this time I’ve been with you, and you still haven’t
worked me out, have you Philip? To see me is to see the Father. So
what’s the point of asking me to show you the Father? Haven’t you
got it sorted out in your head that I am one with the Father, and the
Father is one with me? When I tell you something, I’m not speaking
off my own bat. The Father who lives in me is at work in everything I
say. Take my word for it that I am one with the Father, and the
Father is one with me; or if my saying it is not enough for you, then
surely the things you’ve seen me do prove the point. I kid you not
when I tell you that anyone who trusts in me will do the very same
things. In fact, you’ll do even greater things than I’ve done,
because I’m going back to the Father and handing over the reins to
you. I’ll back you up and do whatever you ask when you’re doing
my work. That’s how the Son will give the glory to the Father. If
you’re working on my behalf you can ask me for anything and I’ll
do it.
........“If you love me, it
will show in the way you live out what I’ve told you to do. I will
have a word with the Father and arrange for another defence counsel
to be permanently assigned to you. Your new defence counsel will
be the Spirit of Truth. The rest of the world will not accept the
Spirit because they never accept what they can’t see or comprehend.
You already know the Spirit though, because the Spirit is with you
and will be at work inside you.
........“I’ve
told you all this while I’m still here with you. When I’m gone,
your new defence counsel — the Holy Spirit who the Father will send
on my behalf — will take over, teaching you everything and keeping
all I’ve said fresh in your minds. The gift I’m leaving with you
is peace; my kind of peace, not the mere easing of hostilities that
the rest of the world offers. So don’t go dropping your bundle or
getting all fearful.”
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net