From the midst of a cyclone, the voice of the LORD answered Job, saying:

“Who are you to mouth off against me
when you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about?
Stand up straight like a man
and see if you can give answers when I ask the questions.

“Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth?
If you’re so smart, tell me all about it.
Who drew up the plans and decided how big it would be?
Who held the tape measure and marked it out?
Speak up – surely you know!
What do the foundations sit on, and how far down do they go?
Who turned the first sod? Who laid the cornerstone?
Do you remember what the morning stars sang at the celebration?
It brought everyone in heaven to their feet cheering.

“Can you order the clouds around
and tell them when and where to rain?
When you give the word for the lightening to flash,
does it ask you first, ‘How far?’

“Who tips off the water birds when the floods are coming?
How do ants know when it’s going to rain?
Who has the wisdom to regulate the clouds,
or be put in charge of distributing the rain
that waters down the dust so it won’t blow away?

“Can you help a hungry lion to hunt,
or hand feed lion cubs all they need?
Do you lie around with them in their den
and teach them how to pounce on their prey?

Who do you think provides for the Currawong
when it’s chicks wander about hungry
and cry out to God for a feed?

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

With all that I am, O LORD, I declare you to be the best.
O LORD my God, you are the greatest.

You are decked out in glory and distinction,
and the brilliant rays of the sun are your robe.
You make the milky way the ceiling
and the ocean bed the foundation for your house.
You fly first class on the clouds,
taking off and landing with the wind.
You have appointed the winds to deliver your message,
and flames of fire to administer your will.

You built the earth on firm foundations,
so that nothing can shake it loose.
You wrapped the planet up in an ocean
that submerged even the mountains.

Only when you gave the word did the waters back off;
with a voice of thunder you sent them running.
Cascading from the mountain tops they poured down valleys
and came to rest in the place you had marked out for them.
You marked out the shore and declared the land off-limits
so that the oceans would not drown the earth again.

O LORD, what a wildly fabulous world! 

Working hand in hand with wisdom
you have made an earthful of wonderful creatures. 

I give you all the credit, LORD! 

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

The person who is chosen to be a high priest is given the task of representing the people to God and offering to God the costly gifts that people bring as a sign that they are sorry when they have messed up. The high priest, being just as prone to thoughtless and crooked behaviour as anyone else, is able to be supportive and understanding of people instead of dealing harshly with them. After all, priests have to offer gifts to God to say sorry for their own wrongdoing along with everybody else’s. No one can nominate themselves for this honour. A person only becomes a high priest if God hand picks them for the job. That’s how it was for Aaron and it has been ever since.

It was no different with Christ. He became a high priest, but not because he campaigned for the position. It was God who tapped him on the shoulder and said, in the words of scripture:

“You’re it — my Son;
today I have named you.”

In the same way, in another place, God says:

“You are a priest forever;
your task is the priestly work begun by Melchizedek.”

When Jesus was among us and the threat of death was closing in on him, it was with agonized cries and tears that he did his priestly work of offering up prayers and appeals to the God who has the power to save us from death. His pleas were heard because of his prayerful acceptance of God’s will. He was given no special privileges as a Son — he got his lessons in obedience in the same school of suffering as the rest of us. Once he had made the grade, perfecting all that he had to learn, God marked him out as a high priest — the last of the line that began with Melchizedek. Thus, Jesus became the one who sets free all who trust and follow him. For them he is the source of life without limit.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Among the twelve closest followers of Jesus were two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. One day they approached Jesus on the quiet and asked, “Teacher, how about doing us a big favour?”

“Tell me what it is and we’ll see,” Jesus replied.

“Well,” they said, “would you please reserve for us the top seats of honour on either side of yours, when your day of glory comes?”

But Jesus shook his head and said, “You’ve got no idea what you’re asking for. Can you drink the cup I have to drink? Have you got what it takes to be baptised with the baptism I am about to be put through?

“No worries,” they replied. “We’re up to it.”

Then Jesus said to them, “I’m afraid that you are going to drink the cup I have to drink, and you will be plunged into the baptism I am about to go through, but I don’t have the authority to give out the honours you’re asking for. God has already chosen who the seats on my right and left will be allocated to.”

When the other ten got wind of what James and John had been asking for, they were absolutely ropeable. Jesus stepped in and gave them all a good talking to. He said, “I know you’ve seen how power is exercised outside of the people of God. A taste of power goes straight to the head. Leaders strut around, flaunting their authority, and before you know it they’ve set themselves up as dictators, above the law. Don’t go making that your model. The measure of greatness among you is to be the measure of service. The person who will be honoured as number one among you will be the person who has slaved the hardest for everyone else. The New Human came serving everyone, not looking to be served by them. He came offering his own life in exchange for the release of many who are held hostage.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prior to the revision of the Lectionary in 1992, the 1st reading and the psalm that responded to it were chosen to link thematically with the gospel reading. After hearing the critique of those who said that the Hebrew Scriptures, from which the first reading is usually chosen, should be allowed to speak with their own voice rather than just add support to the gospel reading, the Lectionary was revised so that during Ordinary Time, the 1st reading runs in its own semi-continuous series, working through various books of the Hebrew Bible. The older themed series continues to be available as an alternative.

The weekly prayers offered here at LaughingBird Resources are based on the four readings above, and do not draw on the themed 1st reading and psalm.

Look at what the one who serves on the LORD’s behalf has suffered.

The sickness and brokenness he endured turned out to be ours;
if it wasn’t for him, it would have wiped us out.
But back then we thought it was his own fault
and that God was punishing him for what he had done.

In reality, it was what we had done that was to blame.
It was us who deserved to be punished,
but him who copped the flak.
When he was left battered, broken and bleeding,
we were off the hook;
free to enjoy the fruits of health and wholeness.

We were all doing our own thing in our own way;
as far off-track as a penguin in the desert;
as far off-key as a mob of galahs.
And yet the LORD accepted his offer to take the rap
for the actions of each and every one of us.

He was ripped off and kicked around,
but he took it on the chin.
Not once did he ever whinge or protest;
he was as silent as a lamb that trots to its fate,
knowing neither shearer nor slaughterer.

His arrest and trial made a mockery of justice.
No one knew or cared what he was up against.
He was dragged off in the midst of life;
put to death for crimes committed by our people.

Although he had never breathed a lie
or done anything to hurt anyone,
they buried him alongside the callous and corrupt
– thoughtless profiteers who died rich.”

The LORD says,
“It was me who decided to allow this tragedy
to befall the one who serves on my behalf.
He made the ultimate sacrifice at your hands,
and won forgiveness for you in the process.
So now he will be rewarded with life;
he will live to see his children and their children.
Through his actions,
my plans are able to succeed.

In the depths of agony and despair he discovered the truth,
and with the truth he found true peace.
The one who serves on my behalf was beyond reproach,
but he took the rap for what others did,
and left their record as spotless as his own.

Because of all that he has done,
I, the LORD, elevate him to the hall of fame
and give him the rewards of true greatness.
He deserves the best, for he made the ultimate sacrifice,
accepting the death of common criminal
so that through his suffering and prayers
others might be cut free from their sin.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We have nothing to fear because we have found safety in you;
we have settled down within your care.
Thanks to you, LORD of the universe, no evil can touch us;
disaster can not get a foot in the door.

You have instructed your angels to look after us;
made it their job to protect us wherever we go.
You’ve told them to catch us when we fall;
to keep us from coming to grief on hidden snags.

With your help we can face any danger;
we can stare down crocodiles and Tiger snakes.

Those who know you and love you can depend on you,
you are always there to pull them out of trouble.

The moment they call, you answer;
you’re on their side when all hell breaks loose;
you save their lives and throw a party in their honour.

You give them long and fulfilling lives, LORD;
they will see the realisation of all you have promised.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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 alone know the secrets of the universe
and you alone know who is to be honoured in glory.

You set the earth on its foundations
and filled it with wonderful creatures.
Your creative power is beyond our comprehension
and your purposes in the world can only be glimpsed.

Yet you have come among us in your Son, Jesus Christ.
He came as a servant of all
and laboured and prayed with us for the release
of all who are held hostage to sin and death.
When tyrants rose against him,
he drank the cup of suffering
and was plunged into the baptism of death,
but you raised him to new life
and designated him a high priest forever,
making him the source of eternal salvation
for us and all who respond to your gracious call.

Therefore with .....

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who came as a servant of all,
drinking the cup of suffering,
and labouring and praying with us for the release
of all who are held hostage to sin and death.

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you alone know the secrets of the universe
and you alone know who is to be honoured in glory.

You set the earth on its foundations
and filled it with wonderful creatures.
Your creative power is beyond our comprehension
and your purposes in the world can only be glimpsed.

Yet you have come among us in your Son, Jesus Christ.
He came as a servant of all
and laboured and prayed with us for the release
of all who are held hostage to sin and death.
When tyrants rose against him,
he drank the cup of suffering
and was plunged into the baptism of death,
but you raised him to new life
and designated him a high priest forever,
making him the source of eternal salvation
for us and all who respond to your gracious call.

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.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life in exchange for those held hostage by sin.
Having been designated by God a high priest,
he makes sacrifice for our sins
and thus becomes the source of eternal salvation.

Sisters and Brothers,
  your sins are forgiven;
    be at peace.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now with the words of your high priest in your ears:
“You are a forgiven people.”
Though Christ has welcomed you to his table,
do not lord it over others.
Strive not to be served, but to serve,
and pray, with cries and tears, for the salvation of all.

And may God be present to you in times of trial;
May Christ Jesus pray for you and secure your forgiveness;
and may the Holy Spirit fill you with hope and humility.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
   In the name of Christ. Amen.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net