Year C
Proper 19
Sunday 15 September 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 immortal invisible King of the ages,
and your grace has overflowed for us in Christ Jesus.
You created the earth from a formless void
and filled it with living things.
In every age you have looked for faithfulness
and found instead depravity, corruption and evil.
The hot winds of anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert
but always your merciful love has continued searching
for those who would be saved.
You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us to save sinners.
His hospitality and compassion so scandalised the religious
that he was killed,
but you raised him to new life.
In him you are turning us from our pasts,
lifting us joyously onto your shoulders
and appointing us to your service
as an example for all who would trust you for eternal life.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Short Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)
We thank you that though the hot winds of your anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert,
your son, Jesus Christ, came into the world to save sinners
and all heaven rejoices over every lost one who repents.
©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 immortal invisible King of the ages,
and your grace has overflowed for us in Christ Jesus.
You created the earth from a formless void
and filled it with living things.
In every age you have looked for faithfulness
and found instead depravity, corruption and evil.
The hot winds of anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert
but always your merciful love has continued searching
for those who would be saved.
You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us to save sinners.
His hospitality and compassion so scandalised the religious
that he was killed,
but you raised him to new life.
In him you are turning us from our pasts,
lifting us joyously onto your shoulders
and appointing us to your service
as an example for all who would trust you for eternal life.
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
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
We have received mercy,
for the grace of our Lord has overflowed for us
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Sisters and Brothers,
........your sins are forgiven;
................be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Commission & Benediction
Go now, overflowing with faith and love
and seek out those who are lost.
Side with the poor and sit with the just;
mourn for the earth
and rejoice with heaven over any who turn to God.
And may God judge you faithful;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you;
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with wisdom and grace.
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 19 - Year C - Sunday 15 September 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 4: 11-12, 22-28
The LORD gave me a message for Jerusalem, saying:
“When disaster comes, you will know about it, Jerusalem;The LORD gave me a vision:
........this is the warning your people will hear:
“The invading army is bearing down on you
........like a tornado from the desert.
It is the hot breath of my judgment;
........an angry wind sweeping away all in its path.
“You will pay for your madness, my people,
........for you have totally ignored me.
You are a pack of half-wits
........with nothing between your ears.
You are experts only at corruption;
........you haven’t got a clue about doing good.”
I saw the earth — it was an empty wasteland;The LORD gave me this message:
........I saw the skies — the lights had gone out.
I saw the mountains — shuddering and shaking;
........I saw the hills — trembling like jelly.
I looked and looked, but there was no one to be seen;
........not even the scavenging birds had hung around.
Croplands and orchards alike were scorched earth;
........cities and towns were nothing but rubble.
Everything had fallen before the LORD;
........before the blazing anger of the LORD.
“The whole land will be destroyed,
........and yet not beyond repair.
The earth will be wracked with grief
........and the skies will dress in black.
But I have made up my mind and will not change it;
........I have given my word and will not take it back.”
And now I give all the glory
........and every honour
to the One who rules forever;
........beyond life and death;
................out of sight;
the one and only God.
................And so say all of us!
If you had care of a hundred sheep and one of them got lost, what would you do? Like anyone else, you would leave the other ninety-nine grazing in the paddock and go off looking for the lost one until you found it. And when you found it, you would be so relieved that you would hoist it up on your shoulders and dance home with a spring in your step. Not only that, you would then call all your friends and neighbours around for party, saying, ‘The shout’s on me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’Jesus said, “Let me assure you that it is just like that in heaven. One screwed-up person getting back on the right track causes far bigger celebrations than ninety-nine respectable people who never left it.”
If you had ten coins — all collector’s items — and you lost one of them, what would you do? Like anyone else, you would turn on all the lights and go over the house with a fine-toothed comb until you found it. And when you found it, you would call all your friends and neighbours around for party, saying, ‘The shout’s on me, for I have found the coin that I lost.’Jesus said, “Let me assure you that the angels party like that over each wayward person who turns their life back towards God.”
“Get back down to that mob of yours on the double! Those people, who you brought out of the land of slavery, have gone completely off the rails. In the blink of an eye, they have turned their backs on the path I set them on. They have cast an idol in the shape of a calf, and they are worshipping it and giving offerings to it as expressions of their devotion. They are saying that it is the god who brought the nation out of the land of slavery. I have had a gutful of this people. They are always kicking against the traces. Now stand aside and let me give full vent to my blazing anger and blast them off the face of the earth. I’ll start again with you and build a great nation from your offspring.”But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, saying:
“LORD, why are you letting your anger at your people burn out of control? You proved yourself to be the strongest and the greatest when you brought these people out of the land of slavery. Are you now going to turn around and give our enemies grounds to accuse you of planning genocide from the start? They will allege that you only took the people into the outback to slaughter them. Swallow your anger! Rethink this, and don’t stamp out your people. Follow through on the promises you made to your trusty servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You gave them your word, your personal guarantee. You said, ‘I will multiply your descendants until they outnumber the stars in the sky, and they will inherit the land I promised to give to your family forever.’”And the LORD was persuaded to rethink the situation and abandon the plan to wipe out the people with a disaster.