good morning and welcome on this july the 25th the feast of st james the great santiago in spanish when you see i'm holding a scallop shale in my old parish in sherman abbey there was a most wonderful 15th century wooden statue of st james the pilgrim and on his hat was the sign of the scallop shell for santiago de compostela is the third most visited pilgrim site in the world after roman jerusalem santiago along the camino comes next well i've sought a pilgrim's shelter for pilgrims shelters along the camino can be anything at all in wet weather and i've come into the chicks here or who are all around me the camino itself is a busy place and as people go along they make new friendships and have a wonderful time of finding different places to shelter and different experiences as they make their way first to santiago and then on many of them to finister which is where this scallop shell came from as we watched uh last year the most beautiful sunset at finister looking out to see at the end of that camino route so we're going to say our morning prayers together and wherever you are in the world please feel welcome bring your own concerns and your own people that you would want to pray for those you love and and have in your mind today oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise may christ the day star dawn in our hearts and triumph over the shades of night blessed are you creator of all to you be praise and glory forever as your dawn renews the face of the earth bringing light and life to all creation may we rejoice in this day you have made as we wake refresh from the depths of sleep open our eyes to behold your presence and strengthen our hands to do your will that the world may rejoice and give you praise blessed be god father son and holy spirit blessed be god forever the night has passed and the day lies open before us let us pray with one heart and mind and as we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence o god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen the psalm this morning on this 25th day of the month is a section of psalm 119 beginning at verse 33. teach me o lord the way of your statutes and i shall keep it to the end give me understanding and i shall keep your law i shall keep it with my whole heart lead me in the path of your commandments for therein is my delight incline my heart to your testimonies and not to unjust gain turn away my eyes lest they gaze on vanities oh give me life in your ways confirm to your servant your promise which stands for all who fear you turn away the reproach which i dread because your judgments are good behold i long for your commandments in your righteousness give me life so we turn to sin luke but we are in a way backtracking because this is the special reading for james's day and we've gone back a while from when jesus is making his approach to jerusalem and trying desperately to share the news of what that messiahship means to them in in terms of pain and suffering and he can't seem to get them to understand and here are james and john in the midst of all of that so we start today at verse 43 of chapter nine in st luke's gospel while they were all marveling at everything he was doing jesus said to his disciples let these words sink into your ears the son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men but they did not understand this saying and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it and they were afraid to ask him about this saying an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest but jesus knowing the reasoning of their hearts took a child and put the child by his side and said to them whoever receives this child in my name receives me and whoever receives me receives him who sent me for he who is least among all of you is the one who is great john answered master we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him because he does not follow with us but jesus said to him do not stop him for the one who is not against you is for you when the day is drew near for him to be taken up jesus set his face to go to jerusalem and he sent messengers ahead of him who went and entered the village of the samaritans to make preparations for him but the people did not receive him because his face was set towards jerusalem and when his disciples james and john saw it they said lord do you want us to tell a fire from heaven to come down and consume them but jesus turned and rebuked them and they went on to another village i like to think of jesus at a stopping point first of all when he takes the little child with no idea who the little child was perhaps the child of the family giving the disciples shelter and hospitality an innkeeper or who knows but i like to think of him sitting down low as i am now surrounded by all this new life which is only just beginning to get to know the world and the little child becomes a symbol of who is great greatest in the kingdom of heaven james and john in these passages have a strange role we know that jesus had nicknames for some of his disciples peter was his rock james and john bow energies the sons of thunder and we see why today for when the advance party and you might think once again of that group of women and others who were surrounding the disciples in their journey to jerusalem those who have come from galilee remember mary magdalene and joanna and and susanna all of those have gone to a village to prepare the next now remember that the relationships between the samaritans and the jews at that time were very bad and the samaritans will not receive them and james and john are so cross at the way in which the samaritans are not recognizing all that their master is bringing that they want to call down fire from heaven to burn them all up though energies the sons of thunder quick to flash in support but in the wrong way they've like the rest of the disciples not understood everything jesus is trying to tell them about what kind of ministry the son of man is to effect as messiah in jerusalem and at the same time they've not understood that that good news is for all the world and it will take a long time before people can accept it and receive it and be happy that old barriers are broken down but their reaction is full evidence of why jesus called them bonerjees sons of thunder [Music] i think the rebuke is a gentle one because he's used to their flash points and he's used to their qualities also these are those who will be with him in gethsemane later and so he knows they will bear the cost but that they have not yet understood the statue i was talking about in sherburn abbey is a beautiful burgundian wooden statue of st james the pilgrim pilgrim over the years he's lost his pilgrim staff but he still has his pilgrim hat and his scallop shell to say that he is a pilgrim on the journey of life it hasn't always been in the abbey it was given as a gift after the second world war in thanksgiving for the return of a family's children from evacuation in the united states we had a letter a day or two ago from someone who prompted by our reminiscences of the battle of britain said how the stepmother had been instrumental in helping that initiative of taking children from the united kingdom to safety well here are some children who across the atlantic one way were kept safe across the atlantic with all its dangers back and were received back into the arms of their family in all their vulnerability here they were some years later greeting the family again and the family gave this statue of pilgrimage of life's journeys this is galicia's national day because santiago is the cathedral church of st james where tradition has it that his body is is buried there and if you visit it is a most amazing pilgrim center with songs from all nations being sung out in the courtyard outside the cathedral people dancing to the pilgrims songs even too late in the night i'm i'm sure that that is going to be quite a quiet festival today but we remember any who are still walking the pilgrim road we ourselves remember andreas and conchito who live there and we ask god's blessing on the whole of galicia on this day but especially on holy places during this time when worship has been curtailed and all kinds of things have become difficult nevertheless every step we take in life's journey is part of a pilgrimage and all the way we can meet the risen lord in the eyes of others and in our acts of worship and our receiving of word and sacrament in the most unexpected ways in aspects of creation jesus always ready to reach for something which teaches what he's trying to say and on this day as he's trying to tame the sons of thunder he reached for a little child and put the child beside him and said look you're arguing about who is the greatest you haven't understood here is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven for that we give thanks and for the pilgrim roots we give thanks and for the sign of the scallop shell of santiago de compostela on this festival day of st james the great we give great thanks as we say our morning prayers so now we use the prayers for all holy places on this day and pray for the various churches and provinces of the anglican communion and in our own diocese today for the parish of river and pray for justin our archbishop for rose bishop of dover tim bishop at lambeth and all who look after us in our communities are leaders both in ordinary affairs community affairs but also our leaders in our areas of worship asking for wisdom and guidance on this day when we keep the feast of st james the great let's as we bring our own prayers say the special prayer for this day merciful god whose holy apostle saint james leaving his father and all that he had was obedient to the calling of your son jesus christ and followed him even to death help us forsaking the false attractions of the world to be ready at all times to answer your call without delay through jesus christ our lord amen and the special prayer for this week merciful god you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding pour into our hearts such love toward you that we loving you in all things and above all things may obtain your promises which exceed all that we can desire through jesus christ our lord amen so we say each in our own language and in our own style the prayer our savior taught us our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever amen moment of silence for our own prayers this morning [Music] well the ordinary chicks and the pheasant chicks and the turkey chicks and the little ducklings have given us good hospitality and the rain looks as though it may be going off so let's uh say the blessing and have in your mind all those whom you love and would want to pray for today the peace of god which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of god and of his son jesus christ our lord the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you upon those whom you love and those whom you will pray for today and always amen oh [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] thank you so much [Music] [Music] oh systems [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] such [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] you