Nebuchadnezzar had taken most of the people from Jerusalem into exile in Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the exiles. It was addressed to what was left of their leaders, priests and prophets, and through them to all the people. This is what it said:

The LORD who rules over everything, the God of Israel, has sent you from Jerusalem into exile in Babylon and now gives you these instructions:
Settle in for the long haul. Build houses and make yourselves at home. Plant gardens to provide you with food all year round. Continue normal family life – marry and have children, and encourage your children to do the same. Don’t put off raising children in expectation of going home any time soon. Pray that the LORD will be good to Babylon and work hard for the wellbeing of the society you have been sent to live in. Your own interests are now bound up with the interests of this country.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

All the earth should shout joyfully to you, God;
singing your praises;
giving you the glory you deserve.

The things you have done are awesome, God!
When you take action,
your enemies cringe in fear.

You are worshipped all over the earth;
everywhere people sing your praises
and speak your name with honour.

We want to publicise everything you have done, God,
for what you have done among us is awesome.

You made a dry path through the middle of the sea;
you took us safely through the river on foot.
There on the other side, we celebrated your goodness
and declared you to be our mighty ruler forever.
Your eyes are always open, watching the nations;
let pretentious rebels be warned!

If only everyone would honour you, God,
and fill the world with the sound of your praises.
You are the one who sustains our life
and keeps our feet on the right track.

You, God, have examined us carefully;
tested us to see what we were made of.
You drove us to our limits
and weighed us down with burdens;
you let us be run into the ground;
you took us through the fires of hell
and the depths of despair
but then finally into a wide and generous land.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Keep this line fixed in your mind:

Jesus Christ, a human being descended from David,
has been raised from the dead.

That, in a nutshell, is the message I’ve been preaching all along. That is the message which has got me into so much trouble and even seen me locked up like a dangerous criminal. Fortunately though, God’s message itself can never be locked up. I’m willing to put up with all this because I know it helps get the message through to the people God is calling, so that they can get in on the life for which we are saved – the glorious life without limit grounded in Christ Jesus. Another saying to hang on to is this one:

If we have died with him,
we will live with him;
If we tough it out to the end,
we will reign with him;
if we turn our backs on him,
he will turn his back on us;
but no matter how unfaithful we are,
he remains a hundred percent faithful,
because he can never stop being who he is.

Don’t let anybody forget these things. With God as your witness, warn them not to get hung up on arguments over mere words. Such arguments achieve nothing and just drag everyone down. Instead put your energies into the work God has given you – teaching the truth with integrity – and prove yourself to be a worker who can hold his head high in God’s presence.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus was travelling through the region along the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he was entering a village there, he was approached by ten people who were suffering from leprosy. They stood at a safe distance and called out to him as one, saying, “Jesus! Sir! Show compassion for us!”

When he saw what they were suffering from, Jesus said to them, “Go and ask the priests to certify that you are ready to resume normal social contact.”

The ten headed off, as instructed, and while they were on their way, their skin became clean and healthy. Realising that he was healed, one of them turned around and went back to Jesus, singing the praises of God at the top of his voice. He threw himself down at Jesus’s feet and couldn’t stop thanking him. And he was a Samaritan – a member of a despised minority group.

Then Jesus spoke up, saying, “Weren’t there ten people who were cured? Where have the other nine got to? How come this outsider is the only one who has come back to express thanks to God?”

Then he said to the man, “It’s time to stand up and get on with your life. Putting your faith into practice has made you whole.”

©2001 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.

The commander of the Syrian army was a man named Naaman. Naaman was very popular with his king, because under his command, the LORD had given Syria a string of military victories. Although he was a great soldier and a highly decorated commander, Naaman suffered from leprosy. Naaman’s wife had a young Israelite girl among her servants who had come to Syria as a prisoner of war after a military raid. One day the girl said to her mistress, “If only your husband could meet the prophet who lives in Samaria. I’m sure he would cure him of his leprosy.”

So Naaman and his whole entourage travelled to Israel and pulled up in the street outside Elisha’s house. Elisha sent an errand boy out to Naaman with a message, saying, “Go down to the Jordan River and wash yourself in it seven times. That will cure you and your skin will be as clean and clear as a child’s.”

Naaman felt deeply insulted and drove off in a huff, saying, “You’d think that for a man of my standing he could have come out and talked to me himself. I thought that he would at least stand and call on the LORD his God, and wave his hand over my skin to bring about the cure! What’s so special about their scummy Israelite river? Aren’t the two great rivers of Damascus much bigger and better? Couldn’t I wash in them and be clean?”

So he stormed off, seething with rage. But his servants spoke up and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something really difficult, you would have done it, wouldn’t you? So surely you have got nothing to lose but your disease if you do what he said and wash yourself in the river.”

So Naaman relented and, wading out into the Jordan River, he immersed himself seven times in the water, just as the prophet of God had instructed him. Sure enough, he was cured instantly, and his skin became as clear and healthy as a child’s.

He and his entourage immediately returned to Elisha. Standing before the prophet of God, he declared, “Now I know that there is no other God in all the world except the God of Israel.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Wow! More power to you, LORD!
We can’t thank you enough.
With all who stand for justice
our hearts burst with gratitude.

The things you do are fantastic, LORD,
and those who see and understand
never tire of exploring them.

Your works are magnificent, majestic,
and their integrity will never be eroded.

You have a reputation for doing amazing things,
and all of them generous and merciful.

You nourish those who honour you
and you are always true to your word.

You have left your people in no doubt
about your power;
you have given them the whole world on a plate.

Everything you put your hands to
is faithful, fair and trustworthy,
as is everything you say.

What you say goes, now and forever,
and no one can afford to ignore it.

You rescue your people and bring them home safe,
for you have committed yourself to them
for all time.

The mere mention of your holy name
makes us go weak all over!

Wisdom is born when your awesome presence
knocks us to our knees
and those who never lose sight of that
have got their heads on straight.

Awestruck, we give you honour and respect for ever.

©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 rule forever in faithfulness
and in you is salvation with eternal glory.

With awesome power you created the heavens and the earth
and through water and fire you saved for yourself a people.
Even when we were exiled throughout the earth,
your Word, which is never chained,
called us to settle wherever you placed us
and to prayerfully seek the welfare of every land.

In Jesus the Christ, your Word settled among us,
meeting us in our brokenness and suffering
and, in mercy, bringing healing and a way to wholeness.
He was chained like a criminal and crucified,
and when he died, we died with him,
but you raised him from the dead
so that we might also live with him,
forever shouting the wonder of your deeds
and singing the glory of your name.

Therefore with .....

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you that in Jesus Christ
your Word has settled among us,
meeting us in our brokenness and suffering
and in mercy, bringing healing and a way to wholeness.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you rule forever in faithfulness
and in you is salvation with eternal glory.

With awesome power you created the heavens and the earth
and through water and fire you saved for yourself a people.
Even when we were exiled throughout the earth,
your Word, which is never chained,
called us to settle wherever you placed us
and to prayerfully seek the welfare of every land.

In Jesus the Christ, your Word settled among us,
meeting us in our brokenness and suffering
and, in mercy, bringing healing and a way to wholeness.
He was chained like a criminal and crucified,
and when he died, we died with him,
but you raised him from the dead
so that we might also live with him,
forever shouting the wonder of your deeds
and singing the glory of your name.

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

Jesus Christ remains faithful even if we are faithless.
He hears our cries for mercy and replies:
“Get up and live,
your faith has made you well.”

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now, and live fruitfully where God has placed you.
Pray and strive for the welfare of those you live among,
and do your best to present yourselves to God
as faithful workers with no need to be ashamed.

And may God open the pathways before you;
May Christ Jesus cleanse you and make you whole;
And may the Holy Spirit keep your spirits alive
and your feet from stumbling.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net