Year
C
Proper 16
Sunday
25 August 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 our rock and
haven;
the tower of strength to whom we can always turn.
You
created the heavens and earth,
and the sound of your voice shakes
all things.
You put your words in the mouths of the prophets
to
destroy wickedness and overthrow the ruthless,
and to build
justice and plant righteousness.
Your child, Jesus Christ,
came among us
with words of freedom, hope and healing
which so
scandalised the powerful that they crucified him,
but you raised
him to new life
and appointed him as the mediator of a new
covenant.
Before we were formed in the womb, you knew us
and
now you are bringing us into your holy city
with the angels and
saints and the faithful of every age
to rejoice together at the
wonderful things you are doing.
Therefore with .....
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We thank your for your words of freedom, hope
and healing
by which you are bringing us into your holy city
with
the angels and saints and the faithful of every age
to rejoice
together at the wonderful things you are doing.
©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 our rock and haven;
the
tower of strength to whom we can always turn.
You created the
heavens and earth,
and the sound of your voice shakes all
things.
You put your words in the mouths of the prophets
to
destroy wickedness and overthrow the ruthless,
and to build
justice and plant righteousness.
Your child, Jesus Christ,
came among us
with words of freedom, hope and healing
which so
scandalised the powerful that they crucified him,
but you raised
him to new life
and appointed him as the mediator of a new
covenant.
Before we were formed in the womb, you knew us
and
now you are bringing us into your holy city
with the angels and
saints and the faithful of every age
to rejoice together at the
wonderful things you are doing.
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
The Lord is our hope from the
moment of birth.
Jesus Christ, the mediator of the new
covenant,
is pleased to free us from all that has bound
us.
Sisters and Brothers,
........your
sins are forgiven;
................be
at peace.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now to speak the words
God gives you
to all those to whom God sends you.
Offer your
worship to God
with thanksgiving
and with works of freedom and
mercy.
And may God be your shelter to keep you safe;
May
Christ Jesus set you free from all that cripples you;
And may the
Holy Spirit be with you to deliver you
and to make you perfect
with all God’s faithful ones.
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 Proper 16 - Year
C - Sunday 25 August 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.
* Jeremiah 1: 4-10
The LORD
spoke to me saying:
........“Jeremiah,
I am the God who created you;
................I
knew you before your parents thought of you.
........Before
you were born I chose you for myself,
........I
marked you out to speak to the nations on my behalf.”
I
replied, “LORD God, you’re making a
big mistake! I am a lousy public speaker and I’m too young for
anybody to take me seriously.”
But the LORD
said to me,
........“Don’t
put yourself down because of your age.
........Just
go to whoever I send you to,
and say whatever I tell you to
say.
........Don’t let yourself
feel intimidated by anyone,
........because
I’ll be there as back up for you.
........You’ll
be okay; take my word for it.”
Then the LORD
reached out and touched my mouth, saying to me,
........“With
my own hand I am putting my words into your mouth.
........Here
and now I am appointing you to the job.
........I
give you the authority to speak to the nations for
me;
................to speak words
that will wreak havoc,
................words
that will crush and demolish and devastate,
................and
words that will heal and rebuild and give life.”
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 71: 1-6
I run to you for protection,
LORD,
........please
don’t ever let me down.
You always do the right
thing,
........so please be there for
me when I need you.
Hear me when I call for help
........and
step in quickly to bail me out.
Keep me safe when I need somewhere
to hide.
........You are like a
mountain hideaway to me;
................like
a bunker than nothing can blast open.
If I fall into hostile
hands,
........be my God and rescue
me;
Don’t let the callous and cruel
........get
their claws into me.
You are my only hope,
........the
only one I can depend on, LORD;
................I’ve
trusted you since I was a kid.
I’ve leaned on you for
support
........since the day I was
born.
You were the midwife who delivered me from my mother’s
womb,
........the safe hands who
pulled me gasping into life.
................I’ll
never stop thanking you for that!
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Hebrews 12: 18-29
........The
place where you have arrived is not like Mount Sinai was when your
ancestors arrived there — rumbling like thunder and spewing
fire and thick darkness. On arrival they heard a trumpet blast from
the mountain and then the sound of a voice so terrifying that they
begged for it to stop. The little they did hear was bad enough —
that if even an animal was to touch the mountain it must die. What
they witnessed was so terrifying that even Moses admitted that he was
reduced to jelly.
........You have
arrived at Mount Zion, heaven’s own Jerusalem, and it is
completely different. This is the city where God lives, and it is
populated by angels — too many to count — and by the
whole assembly of God’s beloved children who are signed-up in
heaven. All of them, angels and people, are gathered there to
celebrate God, and you have arrived to join them, for it is here that
all those who committed themselves to doing right are finally made
complete in love and integrity. God is here and, here, what God says
goes. Jesus is here too, putting in place the new alliance between us
and God. The memory of how Jesus was killed is strong here, but it is
remembered most for what he achieved in the process rather than just
as tragedy like Abel’s death.
........So,
now that you’re here, make sure you don’t reject what God
is saying to you. If our ancestors couldn’t get away with
rejecting what God told them to do at Mount Sinai, then what chance
would we have if we turn a deaf ear to God on arrival in heaven? Back
then, God’s voice shook the earth to its foundations, but
what’s coming will be even more awesome. God’s promise is
clear: “One final time I will shake up both earth and heaven.”
When God says, “One final time”, it is clear that this
final shaking will get rid of everything that has no lasting value
and leave behind only those things that will last forever.
........So
we are being given a homeland where God reigns — a homeland
that will stand rock-solid when everything else is shaken. No wonder
we are so grateful. We simply overflow with thanks and fall to our
knees before God, overcome with awe. This is our worship, for we
offer ourselves into the consuming fire of love that is God.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Luke 13: 10-17
........One
Sabbath day, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. There was a woman in
the congregation there who had been afflicted for eighteen years by a
crippling and untreatable condition. It twisted her body and kept her
bent over all the time. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and
said, “Woman, you are now set free from what has crippled
you.”
........He placed his
hands on her and, right then and there, she straightened up to her
full height and burst into a song of praise to God. The president of
the synagogue, though, was spitting chips, because it was the Sabbath
day on which Jesus had carried out this work of healing. Desperate to
get the crowd back on side, he kept saying, “God has given us
six days a week for work to be done, so you have plenty of
opportunity to come and be healed. There is no need to break the
Sabbath for it.”
........But
the Lord took him on over this, saying, “You two-faced frauds!
Don’t tell me that each of you doesn’t unchain your dog
on the Sabbath just as you do every other day, so it can stretch it’s
legs and get a drink. This woman is a daughter of Abraham who Satan
has kept chained up for eighteen years. So doesn’t it seem all
the more fitting that it be on the Sabbath day that she be freed from
her chains?”
........His words
left his critics with egg all over their faces. To the rest of the
congregation though, his actions were cause for wonder and
celebration.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Alternative
Hebrew Bible Lections themed to the Gospel Lection
*
Isaiah 58: 9b-14
The
LORD says:
“If you abandon all forms
of exploitation,
........and avoid
bad-mouthing others to gain an edge;
if you share what you have
with those in need,
........and
respond to the real needs of suffering communities;
then you’ll
find that the world will light up for you
........and
life will be one beautiful day after another.
“I, the
LORD, will always be there to guide
you;
........even in the grip of
drought,
........I’ll keep you
healthy and well fed.
You’ll be like an irrigated vineyard
with it’s own deep bore,
........green
and lush and full of life!
“Your ruined houses will be
renovated and new;
........you’ll
be able to restore the homes
................that
have been in your families for generations.
You’ll get a
reputation for making dreams possible,
........for
enabling everyone to find a good place to live.
“If you
stop making a mockery of the sabbath
........by
using the holy day to push your own agendas;
if you bring your
words and your actions
........into
line with one another
by bringing the worship you offer on that
day
........into line with the life
you live through the week;
then I will be close to you and be your
delight,
........and you will be
highly regarded all over the earth.
The land I gave to your
ancestors
........will continue to
give life to you and your children.
“I, the LORD,
have spoken.”
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 103: 1-8
With all our hearts, we praise
you, LORD,
........from
the depths of our being
................we
name you as our one and only.
With all that we are we sings
your praises, LORD;
........how
could we ever forget all you have done for us?
When we do
wrong, you forgive us;
........when
we are sick, you make us well;
................when
our lives fall apart, you put us back together.
With love and
mercy, you treat us like royalty;
........you
shower us with good things all our lives;
................you
makes us feel as young and free as an eagle.
You are there for
those who are victimised, LORD;
........you
clear their names and bring them justice.
Through Moses, you
let us know what you are on about;
........through
Israel, you let us see what you can do.
Your mercy and
generosity are extravagant, LORD;
........your
patience and love are as solid as rock.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net