Year
C
Proper 20
Sunday
22 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 desire everyone to be
saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The earth
is your handiwork, but it has brought you tears;
you created the
nations, but they have brought you grief.
You sent your law and
prophets,
but your people served idols and wealth before you,
and
were unfaithful with all you entrusted to them.
When we
despaired of ever being restored to health,
you lived up to the
name of “Saviour”,
sending us your child, Jesus the
Christ
— himself human —
who gave himself as a
ransom for all.
Although his blood was shed in Jerusalem,
you
raised him to life
and now and forever, he is our mediator in your
presence,
welcoming us with love and renewing us through
prayer
that we might live faithfully in all godliness and
dignity.
Therefore with .....
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We thank you that though we have brought you
grief,
your son, Jesus Christ, gave himself as a ransom for
all,
and is, now and forever, our mediator in your presence,
that
we might live faithfully in all godliness and dignity.
©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 desire everyone to be saved
and
to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The earth is your
handiwork, but it has brought you tears;
you created the nations,
but they have brought you grief.
You sent your law and
prophets,
but your people served idols and wealth before you,
and
were unfaithful with all you entrusted to them.
When we
despaired of ever being restored to health,
you lived up to the
name of “Saviour”,
sending us your child, Jesus the
Christ
— himself human —
who gave himself as a
ransom for all.
Although his blood was shed in Jerusalem,
you
raised him to life
and now and forever, he is our mediator in your
presence,
welcoming us with love and renewing us through
prayer
that we might live faithfully in all godliness and
dignity.
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
Jesus Christ, has lived up to
the name of “Saviour”
for he gave himself as a ransom
for all
to rescue us and forgive our sins.
Sisters and
Brothers,
........your sins are
forgiven;
................be at
peace.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now
and continue to
offer prayers and thanksgiving for everyone.
Be shrewd in dealing
with the world around you
but do not be seduced into serving
wealth.
Weep for those who suffer
and share faith and truth
with all.
And may God welcome you with love;
May Christ
Jesus give you knowledge of the truth;
And may the Holy Spirit
lead you into all godliness and dignity.
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 20 - Year
C - Sunday 22 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 8:18 - 9:1
I’m
heart-broken, sick with grief;
........smiles
are a thing of the past.
Tune in and listen;
........from
one end of the country to the other
........you
can hear the cry of my suffering people:
“Has the LORD
cleared off and left us?” they groan,
........“Has
our king fled the country?”
They gave God every reason
to be angry,
........flaunting their
latest trendy objects of devotion.
But still they
cry:
........“Months pass,
seasons come and go,
................but
still there is no sign of help.”
I am hurting with my
people, torn by their pain;
........I
am grief-stricken, filled with horror.
Surely there is some
treatment available.
........Surely
there is something the doctors can do.
So why are my people still
sick and broken?
........Why are they
not yet back on their feet?
I need a head like a fire
hydrant
........to do all the crying
I am going to do,
gushing tears by the bucket full day and
night
........over all my people who
have been killed!
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 79: 1-9
O God, the land you gave us has
been invaded;
........places erected
in your honour have been desecrated;
................the
city you love has been reduced to rubble.
People who
faithfully served you have been slaughtered;
........their
bodies have been tossed out like garbage,
................feral
animals tear them to shreds and crows pick their bones.
The
city is awash with their blood,
........overflowing
the gutters;
their bodies lie where they fell,
........there
is no one left to bury them.
Those outside our borders make a
joke of our fate;
........they laugh
as they stick the boots in.
Why, LORD?
........How
long will we cop this abuse?
Are you going to be angry
forever?
........Will your fiery rage
never die down?
Take it out on those who really deserve
it;
........on nations that shut you
out and write you off.
They are the ones who chewed up your
people
........and left nothing but
scorched earth where we lived.
Please, God, don’t hold
against us the wrongs of our ancestors.
........Come
quickly with a tender heart and loving arms,
................we
are at rock-bottom.
You are the only one who can get us out of
this mess, God.
........Come to our
rescue! Bail us out! Forgive and heal us!
................Show
everyone that your reputation is fully deserved!
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
1 Timothy 2: 1-7
........The
number one thing I would urge you to do is to pray. Pray for
everyone, thanking God for them and requesting the best for them.
Don’t forget to pray for those who exercise power and
influence, for we depend on them to allow us the space to get on with
our lives in simplicity, peace, dignity and God-given integrity.
There is no doubt that such prayers are exactly what God would wish
us to be offering. Indeed, what God really wants is for absolutely
everyone to be brought into the life God intends for us, and to know
it; to know the full and wonderful truth of it. The bottom line is
this:
there is one God, and only one,
and there is one person standing between God and humanity
........to bring us together:
................Christ Jesus, who was as human as us
................and who put his own life on the line
........................so that everyone else could be set free.
........All this was made clear once and for all.
The work to which I have been appointed is
the work of broadcasting this news. You can take my word for this; I
wouldn’t lie to you. God has made me an ambassador-at-large, so
that I might teach those outside the Jewish family to believe and
trust in this truth.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Luke 16: 1-13
Speaking to his disciples, Jesus
said:
Have you heard the story about the rich tycoon and his shifty business manager? One day the tycoon was presented with evidence that his business was seriously under-performing due to reckless management. So he called in his business manager and sacked him on the spot, saying, “Go and clear out your office and hand over the books for a full audit.”
The manager said to himself, “What am I going to do now. I’m out of work and my reputation’s shot. I’m not fit enough for manual labour, and I couldn’t bear to be seen receiving welfare. I know what I’ll do. I’ve got a sure-fire way to ensure that there will be plenty of people only too happy to help me out.”
So, before clearing out his office, he went to work and called up all the business’s debtors, one at a time. He asked the first, “How much do you owe my boss?”
The debtor replied, “I owe him for a hundred barrels of oil.”
The manager said, “Sit down and sign here, and you will only owe for fifty.”
To another he said, “And how much do you owe?”
“I owe your boss for a hundred tonnes of wheat,” the debtor replied.
The manager said, “Sit down and sign here, and it will be written down to eighty.”
After the transactions had all been signed and sealed, the tycoon discovered what had happened. All he could do was shake his head in admiration over the cunning ingenuity of the shifty business manager.
Jesus went on to say:
“You see, that’s how it is. The people who belong to this present world are far better equipped to dodge and weave their way through their dealings with one another than you lot are, and you belong to the light. So take it from me, if you’ve got a fistful of filthy lucre, use it to help other people out. That way, when it runs out, you’ll have friends for eternity.”
“Those who can be trusted with a little
........can be trusted with a lot.
Those who are dishonest over little things
........are also dishonest over big things.
If you can’t even be trusted with a fistful of filthy lucre,
........who is going to trust you with things of real value?
If you can’t be trusted to look after other people’s things,
........who is going give you anything to keep as your own?”
“No one can play on two teams;
........you’ll either give your best to one
................and under-perform for the other,
................or short-change one
........and give your heart and soul for the other.
You can’t dedicate yourself to both God and financial success.”
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Alternative
Hebrew Bible Lections themed to the Gospel Lection
*
Amos 8: 4-7
“Listen to me, you who wipe
your feet on those in need;
........you
who destroy the poor for your own gain.
You resent religious
holidays
........because they
interupt your wheeling and dealing;
you demand twenty-four hour,
seven-day trading
........so that you
can rip people off without ceasing.
Your advertising is all deceit
and delusion;
........you rig the
odds and the interest rates.
You lure the poor into crippling
debt
........until you own them —
body and soul —
................and
then charge them again for owing you money.
“I, the
LORD, swear on the Bible you so proudly
wave,
........that I will not forget
a single one of your mongrel actions.”
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 113
You are the greatest, LORD!
We,
your servants, can’t stop singing your praises;
........the
mere mention of your name sets us singing!
From now on and
forever,
........your name will be
held sacred, LORD.
From east to west, from
dawn to dusk,
........your name will
inspire songs of praise.
You are ranked number one,
LORD,
........way
above even the greatest nations,
................outshining
even the sun and the stars.
Can anyone compare with you,
LORD?
........Is
there anyone else even close to your league?
Not likely! You are
seated so high
........that you look
down even to see the sky!
You lift up those who have been
trodden into the dirt;
........you
put the poor and outcast back on their feet.
You give them a place
among the guests of honour,
........a
seat with the dignitaries and celebrities.
You give the
infertile couple a family
........filling
their lives with the laughter of children.
You are the
greatest, LORD!
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net