good morning and welcome to canterbury cathedral to the deanery garden this morning we've come to the kitchen garden but this is may the 19th and may the 19th is the feast of st dunstan one of the most important anglo-saxon saints dunstan was archbishop of canterbury from 960 to 988 and his burial place is on the south side of the high altar here he came to bring this community back to the regularity and order of the benedictine rule but before that had been a great officer of state and in the same way his mind ordered that we shall think a little bit about him in our reflections after our reading from the gospel of saint luke but we begin our morning prayers and feel welcome wherever you are in the world oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise your faithful servants bless you they make known the glory of your kingdom blessed are you sovereign god ruler and judge of all to you be praise and glory forever in the darkness of this age that is passing away may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy surround our steps as we journey on may we reflect your glory this day and so be made ready to see your face in the heavenly city where night shall be no more 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 does we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence oh god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen our psalm on this 19th morning of the month is psalm 95 it's a very special psalm it's always been known as the the nightie from the latin word o come in the verse o come let us worship and bow down and so it was used every morning at the beginning of worship and we use it this morning and we soon see why it became so precious as a call to worship after sleep and after rest we use it constantly still oh come let us sing to the lord let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation let us come into his presence with thanksgiving and be glad in him with psalms for the lord is a great god and a great king above all gods in his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also the sea is his for he made it and his hands have molded the dry land come let us worship and bow down and kneel before the lord our maker for he is our god we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand oh that today you would listen to his voice easy to see why those verses with all their imagery of god's creative hand but also of the call to worship and join in that's creativity became so important and the last line i use today is the call to remember that if you hear god's voice today don't harden your heart against it the chance for that particular piece of unique vocation and activity may never return again we're reading from the gospel of saint luke day by day and today we've reached chapter 6 beginning at verse 39 jesus is in the middle of a set of teachings which in luke's gospel are known as the sermon on the plane and he is speaking to his disciples and crowds standing around them as they hear him talk jesus also told them a parable can a blind man lead a blind man will they not both fall into the ditch a disciple is not above his teacher but everyone when they are fully trained will be like their teacher why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye but do not notice the log that is in your own eye how can you say to your brother brother let me take out the speck that is in your eye when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye you hypocrite first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye for no good tree bears bad fruit nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit for each tree is known by its own fruit for figs are not gathered from thorn bushes nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush the good person out of the good treasure of their heart produces good and the evil person out of their evil treasure produces evil for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks why do you call me lord lord and not do what i tell you everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them i will show you what they are like they're like someone who built a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock and when a flood arose the stream broke against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built but the one who hears and does not do them is like someone who built a house on a ground without foundation when the stream broke against it immediately it collapsed and the ruin of that house was very great it's quite clear why we've come here this morning i'm standing in front of the great vine here growing against the wall so it gets south-facing sun beyond me is the cathedral but i can only see the north side but when the sun rises all day long it will shine with its light and heat on this vine and the vine because it's a grapevine and not a bramble bush will produce lovely grapes i can already see the beginnings of that happening as i look along the stems but the vine only does so in an orderly way if pruned and placed well in good order and behind the vine as a back cloth is the wall built in stone the wall of the garden the wall of the precincts and also the wall of the city of canterbury certainly there are roman foundations in there dating from far back before augustine and the romans built there because the line of the celtic wall and cities going back back back were those lines were there already the foundations of the wall are good and strong and deep reinforced by the romans and then afterwards when augustine came here he found it was the palace of king ethelbert and queen bertha but by the time dunstan came having been abbott of glastonbury and ordered that massive and important monastery according to the rule of saint benedict he found here a cathedral already in place with its school which later he would teach in and instruct people in but when he came he found that order was not being particularly well kept and he set the community in good order as psalm 95 asked us to be come let us worship and bow down kneel before the lord sing the psalms be ready for the day as you well know the the benedictine rule causes people to exercise every day body mind and spirit and the bells ring out for physical work in the gardens like this pruning the vines planting the seeds producing fruitfulness but also ring out for times of study for that too roots the mind as we are doing now by reading the gospels and the psalms together and the bells rang out also to call people to prayer and worship the exercising of each facet of humanity into a unique home dunstan was a marvelous scholar but he was also a silversmith and a musician and also someone who could write in poetic ways and his mind was clear and ordered each of us are called to different gifts but the parable from jesus and in this little bit of the gospel you see his humor again the ridiculous exaggerations that somebody could have a log in their eye but he's saying all the time don't spend your time judging your sister or brother because oftentimes your eye has a much bigger log in it than the little speck in their eye you're criticizing and also when he said to that rural community do you gather grapes from a bramble bush or figs from a thorn bush they would have laughed there is great humor here but enormous truth jesus is saying see that you are rooted well in body mind and spirit and this sin dunstan's day says to us exactly the same whenever we go into the cathedral locked against us at the moment during this time of coronavirus but there on the right hand side the south side of the high altar there is the grave of st dunstan a reminder to keep good order in this community and to make sure that body mind and spirit are not only well exercised but well rooted against all troubles and against dangers and difficulties and situations that we may have to face oh come let us sing to the lord says the son but also today if you hear his voice don't harden your hearts in other words listen and act let's say our prayers and first of all we're going to remember in this place the mother church of the anglican communion on this day the diocese of nambale in kenya and magina barasa the bishop there and his people the diocese of aberdeen and orkney in the episcopal church of scotland and anne dyer the bishop there and her people and the diocese of eli oluji in nigeria and abel adjabodu the bishop there and all his people here in canterbury and east kent today we remember the parish of maidstones in faith with ringlestone hall and pray for arthur houston and also the readers there sue shaw and anne mcdonald in their ministry and all the people they look after first so let's say the special prayer for saint dunstan's day almighty god who raised up dunstan to be a true shepherd of the flock a restorer of monastic life and a faithful counsellor to those in authority give to all pastors the same gifts of your holy spirit that they may be true servants of christ and of all his people through jesus christ our lord amen and the collect for irrigation day these days when we ask god's blessing upon the growing crops of the earth preparing for harvest throughout the world almighty god and father you have so ordered our life that we are dependent on one another prosper those engaged in commerce and industry and work of all kinds and direct their minds and hands that they may rightly use your gifts in the service of others through jesus christ our are men so we say the prayer that our lord taught us to say whenever we meet together in whatever language and in whatever way you would normally say it 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 are men the moment of silence in this early morning as we prepare to use this day according to god's call for us in the service of others but now in prayer for those whom we most love and most know to need our prayers god give you grace to follow dunstan and all his saints in faith and hope and love and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you and upon all whom you would pray for this day now and ever amen