good morning and welcome on this saturday the 15th of august welcome to the dinery garden here at canterbury cathedral as we come to say our morning prayers on this rather grey morning this is a very significant day in so many ways but let's first remember that this is the 75th anniversary of the ending of the second world war and commemorations and prayers for peace will be going on right across the world and here also in england and in the united kingdom there will be commemorations here in canterbury itself we shall with everyone else keep the two-minute silence of remembrance at 11 o'clock this afternoon there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the burma star memorial down near the westgate towers which is the home of the lord mayor of canterbury and also we shall at 5 30 this afternoon be receiving the lord lieutenant of kent the high sheriff of kent the lord mayor of the city the chairman of the county council and other dignitaries together with people to remember in the cathedral with thanksgiving 75 years ago the day which ended this worldwide conflict we'll think more about that in the reflections later this of course also 15th of august is the major feast day of the blessed virgin mary and normally celebrations will be happening right across europe and the world and we remember that feast day it's also the birthday of saint anthony of padua a very favorite saint of so many the patron saint of those who are lost and things which are lost but he was born on this day in 1195 and died only uh 31 years later 35 years later and was canonized within 12 months he was such a popular saint we remember all those things i want also to remember with some of our friends in holland that this is the 100th anniversary of the birthday of the dutch theologian writer and poet villain barnard he died 10 years ago in 2010 but this is the centenary of his birthday so we remember those commemorating him and give thanks for not only that but his poetic work with the psalms which is very much used still so let's say our morning prayers and then turn to our reflections which will pick up so many of these anniversaries oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands blessed are you sovereign god creator of heaven and earth to you be praise and glory forever as your living word eternal in heaven assume the frailty of our mortal flesh may the light of your love be born in us to fill our hearts with joy as we sing 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 so god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever are men our psalm on this 15th morning of the month is psalm 76 in judah god is known his name is great in israel at salem is his tabernacle and his dwelling place in zion there brokey the flashing arrows of the bow the shield the sword and the weapons of war [Music] in the light of splendor you appeared glorious from the eternal mountains the boastful were plundered they have slept their sleep none of the warriors can lift their hand at your rebuke oh god of jacob both horse and chariot fell stunned terrible are you in majesty who can stand before your face when you are angry you caused your judgment to be heard from heaven the earth trembled and was still when god arose to judgment to save all the meek upon the earth you crushed the wrath of the peoples and bridled the wrothful remnant make a vow to the lord your god and keep it let all who are round about him bring gifts to him that is worthy to be feared for he breaks down the spirit of princes and strikes terror in the kings of the earth [Applause] so we turn today to two passages of scripture first some verses from the 19th chapter of the gospel of saint john for this feast day of the blessed virgin mary and secondly a continuation of our reading of the acts of the apostles first the lesson from st john the 19th chapter and the 26th verse standing by the cross of jesus were his mother and his mother's sister mary the wife of cleopas and mary magdalene when jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby he said to his mother woman behold your son then he said to the disciple behold your mother and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home jesus's last commission given to the beloved disciple traditionally seen as john the son of zebedee and again in church tradition he was seen to be a cousin of jesus the son of mary's sister salumi and we read that and follow it with the next section of luke's writing in the acts of the apostles we have finished the speech of saint peter on the day of pentecost we yesterday saw a cameo of the life of the early church with its fellowship it's concentrating on the apostles teaching and the prayers but also its daily coming together after the breaking of bread in homes the daily coming together of the christians in the temple as part of their worship and we take that up in chapter 3 at verse 1. now peter and john were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer the ninth hour and a man lame from birth was being carried whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate to ask arms of those entering the temple seeing peter and john about to go into the temple the man asked to receive arms and peter directed his gaze at him as did john and said look at us and the man fixed his attention on them expecting to receive something from them but peter said i have no silver or gold but what i do have i give to you in the name of jesus christ of nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand and raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong and leaping up he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising god and all the people saw him walking and praising god and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for arms and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him they had gone up at the hour of prayer the ninth hour three o'clock in the afternoon it's part of their regular liturgical life these followers of the way faithful to the old traditions but giving them a completely new power and meaning peter and john together here we come across a word which is peculiarly luke's it only appears twice in the rest of the new testament never in the other gospels but twice in the epistles it's the greek verb atenizzo which means i gaze upon and it's used by luke in significant moments in his gospel and also in his writing of the history of the early church it's given a significant meaning of seeing much more than there is to see with the human eye an intensely important word it was used when jesus was standing in the synagogue at nazareth early in st luke's gospel and having read the prophet isaiah and set out with those words his vocation as the messiah the christ a silence fell and all gazed upon him here's that word in the same way my one might turn in peter's life to the moment when he's sitting by the fire light and for a second time a voice speaks he's in the high priest courtyard frightened to death and a maid's voice says as she has looked and gazed at him this man was with jesus and he strenuously denies it it is in the maze voice a moment of insight but for peter the whole thing is too frightening now the word is an accreditation of his apostleship this man was with jesus peter and john both gaze intently at the man and the first act that we read about of those followers of the way and the twelve who before have always been completely unable to exercise this kind of power and jesus gets frustrated with them in the gospel but now the power has been given as a gift from god it's a power to be shared and they say to the man having gazed intently at him look at us and peter proud of the fact that he was with jesus now says in the name of jesus christ of nazareth stand up and walk and the miracle happens this is a day for reconciliation we remember that john is caring for the blessed virgin mary and that luke names her as part of their group what we see is the power of the holy spirit being exercised in a way that mary has been part of all the way through luke's gospel and even john's gospel at the wedding in cana of galilee with her words do whatever he tells you so we give thanks for her very special ministry today and we pray for peace and reconciliation the world over we pray that people like mary who treasured things in her heart and pondered them will reflect on all that happened in those six years of second world war and as the commemorations they too will ponder in their hearts on what it means to make peace in our world 20 years ago when i came here the the the commemorations today were led by a former prisoner in the far east one of that huge 14th army which was mostly commonwealth soldiers the uh the man was called mr bino and he each year would arrange not only veterans from the mostly prisoner of war camps in the far east who had suffered terribly and you could hardly speak about it but he would also arrange for the japanese ambassador to be here and guards from the camps to come and i would watch after we'd had our service in the cathedral as the two lines stood and shook hands now those days have gone because now there's not enough to be here in health and strength but we remember them and i remember people in my ministry in the past who really had been through so much that it went silently inside them they couldn't talk about it that was a church warden of mine who had been a a young officer he was a strong and healthy man when i knew him in older age and he and his wife would sit he was one of those who still wore a monocle and she told the story of how she had thought him dead and then after this vj day when the war ended she heard that he was alive and finally got word that he would come on the train to salisbury station the train came in and she walked forward through the people getting off and past someone she didn't recognize of skin and bone it was her husband he spoke to her and she turned and took him home and cared for him there will be stories like that all over the world today and we remember all those who are grieving from all the nations involved but we give thanks that peace was established on this day there's a habit each year of the japanese ambassador coming not only playing wreaths on the altar but often bringing a gift of a cherry tree to plant here in the precinct that's why i'm sitting in front of this great cherry today it's long past its season of flowering and it's not a fruiting cherry it's a flowering cherry but it is a sign of peace in japan in washington cherry trees when they flower cause work to stop and people to come and wonder at their beauty but here they very much are a sign of peace and reconciliation having been planted for that very reason and we intend to plant more because there is no gift better to us of the holy spirit than peace and reconciliation and the apostles and the virgin mary's real desire was to spread the gift of the spirit of peace and reconciliation across every nation of the world let's say our prayers this morning on this particular day but first i brought my own little copy of the shropshire lad which i was given when i was a curator in shrewsbury oh all those years ago in 1972 and i've carried with me it was an old copy even then i carried with me across the world because i love the poetry of houseman and this number two in a shropshire land maybe is the one for this morning as we remember the cherry as a sign of peace and reconciliation loveliest of trees the cherry now is hung with bloom along the bow and stands about the woodland ride wearing white for easter tide now of my three score years and ten twenty will not come again and take from seventies springs a score it only leaves me 50 more and since to look at things in bloom 50 springs are little room about the woodlands i will go to see the cherry hung with snow may it always remind us to search for peace in our communities and our own lives on this significant day of silences and commemoration so we say our prayers on this day in the communion for the diocese of okay osun in nigeria and abraham akin lalu the bishop there and his people the diocese of bouquet in uganda and samuel agueza and his people and katsina in nigeria and jonathan bayemi the bishop there and his people in this diocese we continue to pray for the villages and communities of the romney and tented and area dinery and give thanks for the long list of clergy some of them retired some in other ministries who help in the ministry of those communities there we give thanks for justin our archbishop and pray for his ministry and the ministry of rose bishop of dover and tim bishop at lambeth and you will have many names to remember on this day but especially we remember of all those whose lives are still affected by the effects of the second world war and warfare of any kind and those also who are being helped in sickness this morning so we say the prayer for this special feast day almighty god who looked upon the lowliness of the blessed virgin mary and chose her to be the mother of your only son grant that we who are redeemed by his blood may share with her in the glory of your eternal kingdom through jesus christ our lord amen so uh a moment when we bring our prayers together in the prayer that our our savior taught us in whatever language and in whichever way you like to 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 lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever amen a moment of silence now for our own prayers excuse me may christ give you grace to follow his blessed mother 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 upon those whom you love and those whom you would pray for today and always amen wow you