David returned from a successful campaign against the Amalekite army, and during a two day break in Ziklag he received news that King Saul had been killed in battle. David composed a song of lament in memory of Saul and his son Jonathan. He called it “The Song of the Bow” and it was written down in the Book of Jashar. David gave orders to his army musicians to teach the song to everyone in Judah. The words went like this:

Israel, your most decorated soldiers
lie dead on the hills!
Your glorious heroes have been cut down!
Don’t let news of this reach the streets of Gath;
don’t breathe a word of it in Ashkelon,
or the godless Philistine women
will mock us in our misery,
gloating and dancing with joy.

A curse on Mount Gilboa
where our heroes’ blood was spilt:
may the sun never shine there,
and the rain never fall;
may it never see a flower bloom again.
Cursed be the place where Saul bit the dust,
where his polished armour
was smeared with blood.

Our great heroes never flinched under fire:
with bow in hand,
Jonathan’s aim was deadly;
with sword in hand,
Saul cut the enemy to pieces.

Saul and Jonathan, how easy it was to love them!
Like father, like son, in life and in death;
they made eagles look slow,
and lions look weak.

Women of Israel, cry your eyes out for Saul!
It was him you had to thank
for your stunning wardrobes,
your designer gowns
and your elegant jewellery.

Our finest men have fallen,
cut down in the heat of the battle!

Jonathan lies dead on Mount Gilboa.
My heart is broken for you, my brother Jonathan;
I loved you more than words can say.
Your love was my greatest delight,
more precious than the love of women.

The heroes who filled us with pride have fallen.
Their weapons, once feared,
are tossed on the scrap heap!

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

From the depths of despair, from rock bottom,
I cry to you, O LORD.
I beg you to listen!
Please tune in and hear what I’m asking!

If you put black marks against our names
for every failing,
Lord, wouldn’t you have to write off everyone?

But forgiveness is much more your style,
and for this we adore you.

I wait in eager anticipation for your presence, LORD.
Everything inside me yearns for you
and your promises fill me with hope.

Deep in my guts there is a hunger for you, LORD,
more pressing than a woman
waiting for the birth of her baby,
more impatient than a child
waiting for a birthday;
crossing off the days, one by one.

O People of Israel, put your trust in the LORD!
The LORD’s love never lets us down,
and is always ready to rescue us from danger.

It is the Lord who will bail us out
when we are caught in the consequences
of our own sin.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Everything you people put your hand to turns to gold. You seem to be the best at everything. You have outstanding faith. You’re articulate. You have great knowledge and insight. Your energy and enthusiasm seem boundless. Even in love you seem to outshine everyone else. So then, we are hoping that you will also come out tops in generosity, as you contribute to the relief fund for the church in Judea.

I’m not trying to force you into anything. I’m simply telling you about the generosity of others so that you’ll know where the benchmark is. I will be watching to see how your love measures up. Of course, if you really want a standard to aspire to, think about the extravagant offering of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich in everything, but he gave it all up for you. He accepted poverty in order to make you rich.

So if you want my advice on this matter, here it is: it is time to put your money where your mouth is. You talked big last year about how willing you were to help when you first heard about the need. Now it’s time to show that you’re not all hot air. It is time to dig deep and show everyone that you are as generous with your actions as you are with your promises. I’m not concerned about how much actually ends up in the hat when you pass it around. It’s more a question of how what you give compares with what you have. No matter how eager you are, no one expects you to give what you don’t have.

Please don’t think that I am trying to make life a bed of roses for others by putting the squeeze on you. You have got plenty at the moment, and they’re doing it tough. Next time it might be the other way around. It’s like swings and roundabouts — it all balances out after a while. As the scriptures say,

“Those with the most let nothing go to waste,
and those with the least will not go without.”

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus arrived by boat back on the Jewish side of Lake Galilee. A huge crowd gathered to meet him on the beach, and a man named Jairus – a respected leader of the synagogue – was among them. Jairus fell on his knees at Jesus’s feet and begged him repeatedly, “My precious little girl is on the verge of death. Come and lay your hands on her and make her well, so that she will live.” Jesus agreed and went with him. Much of the crowd tagged along, all jostling and pushing, trying to be near him.

Hiding in the crowd was a woman suffering from prolonged bleeding. For the previous twelve years her condition had meant that everyone treated her as defiled and contagious. She had spent all her money on doctors and healers who had prescribed everything under the sun. Despite all their remedies and promises, her problem just kept getting worse. She had heard about Jesus and was sure that he was her last chance. Unnoticed, she pushed her way through the crowd and managed to touch the edge of his coat. She was thinking to herself, “Surely even touching this man’s clothes will be enough to make me well.”

Sure enough, the moment she did it, she felt the bleeding stop. She could feel a real change in herself and she knew that she was finally free of the illness. Jesus felt something too, a sudden release of energy from within. He spun around, looking at the crowd, and asked, “Who touched me?”

“Who hasn’t?!” his followers asked incredulously. “If this crowd get any closer they’ll have to hoist you onto their shoulders, so there’s not much point in asking who touched you.”

But Jesus knew that it was something more than that and kept looking around to see who it was. The woman knew he meant her, and she knew that she was going to be found out. Shaking with fear, because she had defiled everyone she had touched, she fell at his feet and spilled out the whole story. But Jesus lifted her by the hand and said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith and it has paid off for you. Welcome back to the world of the healthy! May peace, health and happiness be yours, and may your illness be gone for good.”

As he was saying this, some people arrived from Jairus’ home and said, “It’s too late. Your daughter is dead. It’s no use bothering the teacher now.”

But Jesus heard what they were saying, and said to Jairus, “Don’t give up. Trust me.”

He sent the crowd on their way and wouldn’t let anyone come with them except Peter and the brothers, James and John. When they arrived at the home of the synagogue leader, it was in a state of chaos. Everywhere there were people crying, and you could hardly move for funeral directors, neighbours, and people bearing condolences and casseroles. Jesus didn’t mince his words: “That’s enough. The child is not dead. She’s only asleep.”

But they rubbished him. They knew she was dead. Unperturbed, Jesus took charge of the situation and kicked them all outside. Taking only the child’s parents and his three companions, he went into the room where the child was laid out. He clasped her hand tenderly and said to her, “Talitha koum!” which is Aramaic for “Little girl, get up.” That was all it took – she was up and walking around, as healthy as she had been for the previous twelve years! Of course everyone there was blown away – overcome with joy and amazement. Jesus gave them strict instructions not to breathe a word of this to anybody. Then he said, “The girl’s probably hungry. Find her something to eat.”

©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.

God is not the author of death.
God created all things so that they might live.
Death never brings a smile to God’s face.

The natural way of the earth is to generate life.
The forces of nature are not destructive or poisonous.
The kingdom of death does not govern the planet.

A life lived in truth and integrity is immune to death,
because God created us for life without limit;
permanent and incorruptible, just like God.

But the devil got jealous and screwed it all up.
His greed and envy infected the world with death,
and for those who side with him, it will prove fatal.

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Your love and loyalty never die, LORD.
Your generous mercy never runs dry.
They are created new every morning
and you are as trustworthy as the solid rock.

So I keep telling myself that you are all I need
and that I can still trust you to come through for me.

You are good to those who hang in there for you, LORD;
to those whose hearts continue to search for you.

The life for which you save us, LORD,
is worth patiently waiting for.

It is a good thing to shoulder unfair burdens
while we are still young;
to put up with solitary confinement
if that is what the LORD has imposed;
to eat dust
without giving up hope;
to turn the other cheek with courage
and cop the insults that are dished out.

I can’t believe
that the Lord will write us off forever.

The Lord might be dishing out grief to us now
but not willingly.

The Lord’s rock-solid love
will pour forth compassion for us
for the Lord does not take pleasure
in causing trouble or pain.

©2014 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

I’ll be singing your praises, every chance I get, LORD,
because you got me out of deep trouble
and spared me the gloating of my enemies.

I pleaded for help, LORD God,
and you stepped in and healed me.

They were nearly ready to pronounce me dead
but your brought me back, LORD;
you put me back on my feet
when I was about to be carried to the morgue.

So I’m singing your praises,
and I’m encouraging everyone to do the same;
to name you with joyful thanks.

We manage to get you angry at times,
but it blows over in a moment
because your mercy keeps on keeping on.
We may have an evening of bitter tears,
but by morning your mercy has us smiling again.

I was guilty of taking your goodness for granted;
I thought I had it made.
You had put me on top of the world
but I got all too full of myself.
You stepped aside – made me stand alone —
and I turned to jelly!

I realised how much I needed you, LORD,
and in my panic I begged you for mercy.

“What good is my blood to you?” I cried.
“How will it help if I’m in the grave?
Can a corpse sing your praises?
Will a gravestone publicise your goodness?
Give me another chance, LORD.
Please, LORD, bail me out one more time.”

And sure enough, you did, LORD.
You turned my tears to laughter;
you set my dragging feet dancing;
you dusted me off and dressed me up for a party.
So now I’m singing your praises
from the bottom of my heart,
and no one can shut me up!

You are my God, LORD,
and I’m eternally grateful.

©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 no matter how deep we sink in sin and despair,
you hear our cry for mercy and lift us to life.

From the depths of chaos you pulled the newborn earth
and filled it with love and beauty.
When we tore apart the glory of your creation
and left innocence slain upon our battlefields,
you continued to reach out to the grieving world
with a love more wonderful than any other.

Your surpassing generosity took flesh in Jesus Christ,
who, though he was rich,
gave up everything
so that we might lack nothing.
When he was killed, you raised him,
and hope dawned over the dark night of grief.
From him radiates the energy that heals us,
and at the touch of his hand
the outcasts are reconciled
and the dead awake to fullness of life.

Therefore with .....

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus,
for no matter how deep we sink in sin and despair,
he comes to us and at the touch of his hand
the outcasts are healed and reconciled
and the dead awake to fullness of life.

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for no matter how deep we sink in sin and despair,
you hear our cry for mercy and lift us to life.

From the depths of chaos you pulled the newborn earth
and filled it with love and beauty.
When we tore apart the glory of your creation
and left innocence slain upon our battlefields,
you continued to reach out to the grieving world
with a love more wonderful than any other.

Your surpassing generosity took flesh in Jesus Christ,
who, though he was rich,
gave up everything
so that we might lack nothing.
When he was killed, you raised him,
and hope dawned over the dark night of grief.
From him radiates the energy that heals us,
and at the touch of his hand
the outcasts are reconciled
and the dead awake to fullness of 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.

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

If the Lord recorded our sins, no one could survive,
but God’s capacity for forgiveness is awesome.
The Lord will bring mercy and grant full pardon.
In Jesus Christ we are lifted to life.

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

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go out, among the outcast and the grieving,
and speak the word of life and hope.
Do not fear, but trust in God’s word.
Watch for the Lord with eager expectation,
and be generous with all God has given you.

And may God respond to your every cry with mercy;
May Christ Jesus take you by the hand and lift you to life;
and may the Holy Spirit build you up in faith, in speech,
in knowledge, in passion and in love.

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

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net