good morning and welcome to the garden of the deanery at canterbury cathedral on this wednesday the 5th of august as we say our morning prayers welcome to you wherever you're looking at us in the world bring your own concerns to these prayers and feel welcome as part of the community here in canterbury despite the distance between us this august the fifth is the feast day of the great basilica in rome santa maria maggiore saint mary major sometimes known as our lady of the snows and we pray for the life of that great basilica with which we have had good ecumenical relations building up towards what would have been the great festival of saint thomas beckett the 800th anniversary of the consecration of his shrine that's now been put off till next year but at sun center maria maggiore there is uh the the tunical which beckett wore and that as so many of you know was coming here to be in canterbury during that festival and we are expecting i hope to perform that uh on july the 7th next year but of course we shall look forward also to the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of saint thomas beckett on december the 29th but for this morning we pray for his eminence stanislav cardinal rilco the arch priest of the basilica of saint mary major our lady of the snows in rome as they celebrate today this great feast and we have joy with them on this august the 5th o 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 assumed 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 does 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 morning psalm on this fifth morning of the month is psalm 26 give judgment for me o lord for i have walked with integrity i have trusted in the lord and have not faltered test me o lord and try me examine my heart and my mind for your love is before my eyes i have walked in your truth i have not joined the company of the false nor consorted with the deceitful i hate the gathering of evildoers and i will not sit down with the wicked i will wash my hands in innocence o lord that i may go about your altar to make her the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all your wonderful deeds lord i love the house of your habitation and the place where your glory abides sweep me not away with sinners nor my life with the bloodthirsty whose hands are full of wicked schemes and their right hand full of bribes as for me i will walk with integrity redeem me lord and be merciful to me my foot stands firm in the great congregation i will bless the lord we turn to our regular reading of sin luke's gospel and we are at verse 44 of chapter 23. it was now about the sixth hour and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour while the sun's light failed and the veil of the temple was torn in two then jesus calling out with a loud voice said father into your hands i commit my spirit and having said this he breathed his last now when the centurion saw what had taken place he praised god saying certainly this man was innocent and all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle when they saw what had taken place returned home beating their breasts and all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from galilee stood at a distance watching these things now there was a man named joseph from the jewish town of arimathea he was a member of the council a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision and action and he was looking for the kingdom of god this man went to pilate and asked for the body of jesus then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone where no one had ever yet been laid it was the day of preparation and the sabbath was beginning the women who had come with jesus from galilee followed and they saw the tomb and how the body of jesus had been laid then they returned and prepared spices and ointments on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment the closure of the act of crucifixion and the death of jesus as told quite simply by luke we have seen that he has given dimensions to this story but in total simplicity which are not there in other gospels and we hear words of jesus of forgiveness for those who crucified him forgiveness for the penitent thief but also now his last cry is a quotation from the psalms didn't surprise us his whole ministry is filled with quotations of fulfillment from the psalms but here the sentence father into your hands i commit my spirit and he breathed his last and the centurion on duty keeping order at this scene of public execution for the three of them jesus and the two thieves says certainly this was an innocent man it's that that luke wants to stress above all else he has done nothing deserving of death and yet for political expediency all sorts of reasons which we've seen over the past few days jesus has been crucified now enters into the picture another person luke makes it clear that what we have thought about desertion by all is not really true yes the 12 or the 11 have run away and one of them has betrayed him that's clear from the account of saint mark but here luke describes those who have stayed and he says friends of jesus and the women who had come from galilee standing watching all these things from a distance how their hearts must have been written the friends aren't named but they would have been people who followed jesus on the way i wonder whether bartimaeus the blind man from jericho who'd followed jesus on the way the last stage of the journey to jerusalem wonder whether he was there or you can name all kinds of people luke doesn't say he simply says there were friends of jesus and the women faithfully who had followed him giving support all the way from galilee not prepared to leave now but at a distance from the violence observing pondering and grieving over everything and now another character appears who has not been named in luke's gospel yet joseph from arimathea a respected member of the council some gospels say a secret disciple of christ luke doesn't say that there's nothing secret about joseph he has not been consenting to the council's vote for jesus and here he is observing the death of jesus and wanting to do what is right we hear of luke's description here is a good and righteous man who was looking for the kingdom of god and he goes to pilate he's senior enough to do that and asks for the body of jesus what an ask pilate when he discovers jesus is dead grants joseph the body what could it matter to him now all activity from this troublesome man has ceased so joseph in quite an intimate scene for the tomb we believe from other gospels must have belonged to him and he takes down the body from the cross fulfilling the law that a dead body should not hang on the gibbet on the sabbath and then wraps it in a linen shroud and lays it in his own rock hewn tomb and watching all this are the women who won't let jesus down even in death they see how the tomb is how the body is laid how the stone is sealed and they go home and they're busy they must be busy for the next day they are faithful to all the practices of their own faith they will rest it's the sabbath but before that they prepare all the ointment and spices needed for the body the moment the first working day begins after the sabbath over let's return to joseph for it strikes me that joseph in luke's gospel is very like go all the way back to the beginning chapter two very like simeon who was described as a righteous man waiting and looking for the consolation of israel joseph a good and righteous man looking for the kingdom of god both of them waiting and both physically take the body of jesus into their arms simeon jesus as a helpless baby joseph the body of a man from whom life has departed and according to all the dignified rights and ceremonies that he can manage he wraps the body in a shroud and lays it in the tomb and seals the tomb strange how luke in subtle sentences and hints and words gives us images which connect with each other and also tells us everything we need to know about the fulfillment of prophecy what is happening and also what it means in terms of in simeon's word the consolation of israel and in joseph's words waiting for the kingdom of god there's faithfulness there in their righteous and faithful behavior and the rule would have gone for joseph and for the women too the next day was the sabbath and according to the commandment which jesus himself never broke except in details which were important for humanity according to the commandment they rested but on the first day of the week it's the women who are active first with things they have prepared not on the sabbath but the night before perhaps we would be pleased if luke had told us a bit more about who were among the group of friends or he does tell us something about the group of women but in the next chapter something more about joseph something more about but luke tells us all we need to know so that we too can be friends of jesus there is a quality of nunc dimittis now let your servant depart in peace about both simeon and joseph as they take the body of jesus they play their part as friends of jesus simeon prophesies to the mother of jesus what she will suffer we remember this day on this feast of santa maria maggiore mary major in rome but meanwhile we receive what luke has given us so that we too can be friends of jesus in our own day and fulfill those things that we know ourselves being asked to do let's say our prayers on this day we pray for the diocese of ogbia in nigeria and bishop james orowari the bishop of that diocese and all his people diocese of boar in south sudan and rubin and gong the bishop there and his people and the diocese of um zimvubu in south africa and bishop sitibaile zamane and all his people here in this diocese as we pray for justin our archbishop and tim bishop at lambeth we pray also for rose bishop of dover and the elam valley group of churches which contains siberians and ethel burgess mary the virgin elim all saints stanford and saint mary magdalene at denton we pray for jane weeks and stephen dougal in their ministry there and all who serve those villages and parishes so we pray the prayer of this day almighty god who sent your holy spirit to be the life and light of your church open our hearts to the riches of your grace that we may bring forth the fruit of the spirit in love and joy and peace through jesus christ our lord amen may we pray thee prayer our savior taught us in whatever language and in whichever way we 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 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 and which of silence now as we make our own prayers for this day 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 you would pray for today and always are men you