[Music] do [Music] do [Music] so good morning and welcome to canterbury cathedral on this sunday the 27th of december it's the third day of christmas and hurricane bella or other storm bella has been raging around us all night with torrential rain the rain is still falling outside but the wind has now dropped it causes us to remember those in our prayers today who've suffered so much from flooding across the country in the last 24 hours or so we don't have three french hens for you this morning but we have for shelter come into the turkey greenhouse which was the tomato greenhouse so still a few tomato plants around and the odd tomato but essentially it's the home of our three very elegant turkeys whom because they have a a georgian elegance we call darcy and lizzy and jane you'll identify which is which i think but i'm going to feed them now and say that they are having breakfast with us here we are here our jackets there we are hands out for you and we'll say our prayers with them they're very gentle the turkeys but we have here also um a hen whom we call mummy she's an elderly hen we call her mummy because she has hatched so many of our chicks but she as chickens do is undergoing the most severe moat at the moment and it's a miserable time for her she's coming through and i don't know whether she will walk around a little bit this morning but certainly new feathers are appearing on her neck and soon she will look very spruce but she is the best mother hen we've ever had meanwhile darcy and lizzie and jane are here with us reminding us of the elegant manners of turkeys let's say our prayers on this morning wherever you are in the world please bring your own prayers and intentions on this feast day of saint john the evangelist the beloved disciple and our our themes are very much connected not only with christmas but the way in which sin john the evangelist proclaimed the true meaning of christmas as uh we read that that lesson on christmas day and at the end of all our carol services in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god so we give thanks for saint john the evangelist on this day 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 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 our psalm on the 27th morning of the month is psalm 121. i lift up my eyes to the hills from where is my help to come my help comes from the lord the maker of heaven and earth he will not suffer your foot to stumble he who watches over you will not sleep behold he who keeps watch over israel shall neither slumber nor sleep the lord himself watches over you the lord is your shade at your right hand said that the sun shall not strike you by day neither the moon thy night the lord shall keep you from all evil it is he who shall keep your soul the lord shall keep watch over your going out and you're coming in from this time forth forevermore our reading this morning is taken not from the gospel of saint john so we shall very much be referring to that in our reflection as well but from the first letter of saint john and we're reading chapter 2 and the first 11 verses my little children i am writing these things to you so that you may not sin but if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world and by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments whoever says i know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in them but whoever keeps his word in that person truly the love of god is perfected by this we may know that we are in him whoever says that they abide in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walks beloved i am writing you no new commandments but an old commandments that you had from the beginning the old commandment is the word that you have had but at the same time it is a new commandment that i am writing to you which is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining whoever says he is in the light and hates their brother or sister is still in darkness whoever loves their brother or sister abides in the light and in them there is no cause for stumbling but whoever hates their brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where they are going because the darkness has blinded their eyes it's a very typical lesson of saint john but of course it comes from the commandment of our lord who at the last supper just at the moment in st john's gospel when the foot washing has taken place and jesus has returned to the table and then he gives the sop dipped in the dish to judas who then goes out into the night he then says to them a new commandment i give to you that you love one another even as i have loved you so you must love one another by this shall all know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another the new commandment is the ultimate teaching of sin john and one can go right to the beginning of his gospel with that magnificent theological and wonderful human explanation theologically it begins in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god the same was in the beginning with god all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made in him was life and the light the life was the light of all people and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never overcome it and then it goes to the human level there was a man whose name was john the same came for a witness to bear witness to the light that wonderful beginning is then given so much explanation through that whole fourth gospel until it comes to the point at the supper with darkness outside where the little group are gathered around jesus on the night of his betrayal and on the night when even peter will deny him and he says to them a new commandment i give to you that you love one another as i have loved you and by this everyone will know that you are my disciples there is a lovely carol christmas time carol i must i must stop making sudden gestures turkeys don't like that they're gentle creatures it was written by christina rosetti we know her best for her carol in the bleak mid-winter frosty wind made moan earth stood hard as iron water like a stone snow had fallen snow on snow snow on snow in the bleak mid-winter long ago and that carol is a great favorite but she wrote another which tends to reflect on sin john's gospel and it involves first of all a statement and then a question and then an answer the first verse is a statement love came down at christmas love all lovely love divine love was born at christmas star and angels gave the sign and the question worship we the godhead love incarnate love divine worship we our jesus but wherewith for sacred sign and then the answer love shall be our token love be yours and love be mine love to god and all men love for plea for gift and sign they are beautiful words normally we sing them as a hymn to the irish tune love came down at christmas love or lovely love divine but there is the most beautiful setting by john rutter and we'll try and try to attach that for you this morning so you can hear that and it's by it's being sung by cambridge singers and what we're being given first of all is the plea love for plea we plead that love as we approach in our unworthiness on christmas day at the eight o'clock service the book of common prayer service in the chapel of our lady undercroft i found myself just three days ago saying the service according to the book of common prayer and in the middle the prayer of consecration from the altar seems to break off for a little biblical reflection that little biblical reflection is called the comfortable words and it begins here what comfortable words our lord jesus christ says to all who truly turn to him come unto me all who travail and are heavy laden and i will refresh you now the most important thing about all of that is the fact that the comfortable words end with the statement from st john which we've just read from his letter and that statement is a statement here also watson john says if any man sin we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins at home when we came to that point in the service and those were the words in those days we came to the point where cannon such at the altar would stop and the biblical reflection was read by the lay reader who was the british undertaker charlie painter was read from the lectern and he would say in the accent of gloucestershire hear what comfortable words our savior christ saith unto all that truly turned to him come unto me all that travail and are heavy laden and i will refresh you so it went on and my mother would always say that sentence of comfortable words is the really best part of the eucharist for me and when it was over of course the sentence comes from that comfort that saint john gives if anyone sins we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and with that assurance the word therefore is missing but it's understood with that assurance the mass goes on lift up your hearts and let us give thanks and that becomes really important in the teaching of st john this teaching of love and teaching of light and teaching of the sign that is given to the world by that love love for each other in the new commandment at this time the word comforter is a word which is very much expressed by you know um very much expressed by the title given to the holy spirit when the disciples are nervous about being left alone and jesus calls the spirit the gift of the spirit the comforter comforters the word that is used by um dickens for what bob cratchit wears round his neck the great scarf which is the only thing keeping him from warm in scrooge's counting house and that comfort is given by the new commandment in our lessons this morning and there's of course the great carol tidings of comfort and joy which we sing oh tidings of comfort and joy comfort and joy tidings of comfort and joy darcy is showing us all his proud feathers at the moment so on this day as we read that little passage from st john's letter and think of those verses john 13 verses 34 and 35 that jesus gives to his disciples and also we know the way in which christina rossetti sets out the statement love came down at christmas the question but wherewith for sacred sign and the sign to the world is the gift of the spirit the comforter which allows us to love not only one another but all whom we can give encouragement to on this day when the pandemic is in full force throughout the world and we're taking all the precautions we can for the health of one another but at the same time people are facing the kind of things which the world offers to us at all times in flooding as i mentioned at the beginning but across the world in various situations you will know that as you come to say your prayers with us this morning and so whatever your intentions and whatever your concerns then think of that comforter the holy spirit and rest in the statement love came down at christmas and the sign the sign is the gift of the comforter which enabled us to love one another and give thanks for the teaching of st john the evangelist on this 27th of december right let's say our prayers and see whom we're praying for today now this is a day this sunday following christmas when we're praying for christians of other denominations and the work of the ecumenical movement so first we pray for his holiness pope francis second we pray for the ecumenical patriarch of the orthodox churches it's all holiness archbishop bartholomew of constantinople we pray for the general secretary of the world council of churches we pray for the general secretary of the world methodist council bishop ivan abrahams and also the general secretary of the world communion of reform churches chris ferguson all those we pray for as we pray for christians of every denomination the world over pray for justin our archbishop in his role as the leader of the anglican communion and also in our own diocese where he is diocesan bishop we pray for christians of every denomination wherever they are worshipping and pray for their life and give thanks for them and remember the commandment the new commandment that by our love for one another folk will know that we are disciples of jesus our jesus as uh christina rosetti calls him but that possession is one of the whole of humanity and so uh we go to the prayer for today first the preface in john the evangelist of sin john the evangelist and then secondly the prayer for christmas tithe bring your own intentions and prayers wherever you are merciful lord cast your bright beams of light upon the church that being enlightened by the teaching of your blessed apostle and evangelist saint john we may so walk in the light of your truth that we may at last attain to the light of everlasting life through jesus christ your incarnate son our lord and then the christmas connect for this particular day which is on the page before this we use day by day through the week get back a bit here we are almighty god you have given us your only begotten son to take our nature upon him and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin grant that we who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace may daily be renewed by your holy spirit through jesus christ our lord amen so we say our prayers each in our own language and use 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 now as we pray for that gift and sign of love uh may christ who by his coming at christmas time gathered into one the things of heaven and the things of earth fill you and your families and friends and those whom you are praying for with the spirit of peace and goodwill this season the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you from those whom you love and those whom you would pray for today and always are men so lizzy we thank you for your company this morning turkeys always have a way of calming down the atmosphere for their gentle birds and darcy is enjoying his leadership of this little flock with the honorary turkey mummy the hen who actually looks better this morning as the molt begins to end so thank you darcy lizzy jane and mummy for your hospitality with storm bella just subsiding outside [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] no [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh jesus [Music] my god [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign oh oh [Music] my [Music] um [Music] is oh [Music] christmas [Music] so [Music] [Music] oh [Music] please [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you