good morning and welcome to canterbury cathedral on this beautiful morning tuesday july the 16th i've come up high today because this is the day on in our calendar that we remember richard of chichester and so from here we can see across to the next diocese along the diocese of chichester which we remember in our prayers today together with the county of sussex for this is sussex day probably i think because of st richard of chichester having a feast day today and i think many of you may have connections in sussex we have family living there in lewes and we remember them as you will be remembering other people that i am speaking from kent high up on the roof and another of the anniversaries which happened today was the year's mind or is the year's mind of lord wreath who died in 1971 and he uh was of course the director general of the bbc in its earliest years so here i am amongst the television aerials of the city and remembering his contribution to broadcasting this also is the day in 1880 when william booth founded the salvation army so in our prayers we remember all members of the salvation army and give thanks for their work across the world say we begin our prayers o lord open our lips and our mouths shall proclaim your praise visit us with your salvation and sustain us with your gracious spirit blessed are you sovereign god creator of all to you be glory and praise forever you founded the earth in the beginning and the heavens are the work of your hands in the fullness of time you made us in your image and in these last days you have spoken to us in your son jesus christ the word made flesh as we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us let the light of your love always shine in our hearts your spirit ever renew our lives and your praises ever be on our lips blessed be god father son and holy spirit blessed be god forever the night is past 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 oh god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen in the morning of this 16th day of the month is psalm 80 here oh shepherd of israel you that led joseph like a flock shine forth you that are enthroned upon the cherubim before ephraim benjamin and manasseh stir up your mighty strength and come to our salvation turn us again o god show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved o lord god of hosts how long will you be angry at your people's prayer you feed them with the bread of tears you give them abundance of tears to drink you have made us the derision of our neighbors and our enemies love us to scorn turn us again o god of hosts show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved you brought a vine out of egypt you drove out the nations and planted it you made room around it and when it had taken root it filled the land the hills were covered with its shadow and the cedars of god by its boughs it stretched out its branches to the sea and its tendrils to the river why then have you broken down its wall so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes the wild boar out of the wood tears it off and all the insects of the field devour it turn again oh god of hosts look down from heaven and behold cherish this vine which your right hand has planted and the branch that you made so strong for yourself that those who burnt it with fire who cut it down perish at the rebuke of your countenance let your hand be upon the one at your right hand the son of man you made so strong for yourself and so will we not go back from you give us life and we shall call upon your name turn us again o lord god of hosts show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved return then to the gospel of luke the 12th chapter and today beginning at the 13th verse someone in the crowd said to jesus teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me but jesus said to him man who made me a judge or arbitrator over you and he said to them all take care and be on your guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of one's possessions and he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man brought forth tentiously and he thought to himself what shall i do for i have nowhere to store all my crops and he said i will do this i will tear down my barns and build larger ones and there i will store all my grain and my goods and i will say to my soul so you have ample goods laid up for many years relax eat drink and be merry but god said to him oh fool this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared whose will they be so is the one who lays up treasure for themselves and is not rich toward god yesterday we heard jesus giving spiritual advice to his disciples and now he turns again to the crowds and tells them a parable and once again it's about the building up of the inner life yesterday we were thinking of evil in underhill and one of the things she said was in order that i may grow my walls must come down see how the psalmist laments that the wall has been broken down and the vine which the lord planted is in danger but the wall coming down as we've seen so much is the extension of god's gifts right across the world and jesus once again concentrates on the building up of that inner life in order to give the outer life strength and energy for the world i said that it was the year's mind today of john reef director general of the bbc from 1922 to i think 1938 right at its beginning his influence on that organization was profound but of course the bbc has developed in all sorts of ways since but the motto remains the same nation shall speak peace unto nation wreath himself was a towering man in all sorts of ways and i remember seeing him interviewed on television probably in the late 1960s when he was in his late what should we say 70s and his his face craggy with wounds he'd received in the first world war was very definite and strong but he made fun of himself as well when the announcer said so what is the best form of government he thought for a bit and stroked his chin and then said despotism tempered with assassination i think he was he smiled then he was joking about the way in which someone can be strong strong for a while but the time comes when the removal of that person means that you develop onwards we remember that in his day also he gave the motto to the bbc which is still carved in broadcasting house the latin word for whatsoever and he took that from the epistle to the philippians from singapore whatsoever is true whatsoever is honest whatsoever is just whatsoever is of good report think on these things of course the list is much longer but that was his aim in broadcasting across the world that those things should be shared amongst the nation that walls should come down and it's gradually nation should speak peace unto nation the great vision of william booth also in spreading the gospel and spreading it by direct action particularly with those who needed care and welfare most of all even in dangerous situations is set before us today reef is remembered as having advised his men to learn things by heart which would keep them strong there's a story of him telling a group of his soldiers to learn the 23rd psalm by heart well i very much believe that the equipment the equipment in inside one has to be in the memory and in the heart and we thought about that as when jesus telling his disciples gave them the prayer which we shall say later on our father part of our equipment one of the things that saint richard of chichester is remembered for is a little piece of equipment he gave us to learn by heart day by day of you o lord three things i pray to see you more clearly love you more dearly follow you more nearly day by day i would say that was a piece of spiritual equipment which shouldn't be written in a book for us to say but in dangerous circumstances just like the lord is my shepherd i shall not want is in the mind when one sees the most wonderful landscapes or we look across and see sussex beyond us those things need to be in the mind responses to situations of glory of danger they are spiritual equipment which gives us strength like walls but walls that can be completely transcended unlike these stone walls which give a different kind of barrier and protection so we remember with thanksgiving all those things there's many anniversaries today but also jesus is parable about the one who only thought is building up of his possessions and building more storehouses and barns to protect them was the way forward oh fool said god and jesus would say tend your inner life that your outward activity and outward life will be strong in any situation let's say our prayers on this day we pray of course for the churches of the anglican communion and all of those that we remember on this day we are remembering today the diocese of niagara in canada and susan jennifer ann bell the bishop there and her people the diocese of ancernana in the indian ocean and theophile bottomazar the bishop there and his people the diocese of jamaica and the cayman islands in the west indies and howard gregory the bishop and his people we pray for the ignite deanery communities in the area deanery of sitting born in this diocese the villages around the sitting horn in that special ministry and pray for justin our archbishop tim bishop at lambeth rose bishop of dover and their episcopal ministry here in the diocese of canterbury we pray also for martin bishop of chichester and for the life of that diocese and our sister cathedral church there on this day too we remember the anniversary of the death of joe cox it's a way of remembering the dangers of public life and all our members of parliament have to face and do for us and at the same time we hear the words of joe's sister to speak peace and compassion to each other to build up unity so the prayer of saint richard of chichester which is the special prayer for this day most merciful redeemer who gave to your bishop richard a love of learning a zeal for souls and a devotion to the poor grant that encouraged by his example we may know you more clearly love you more dearly and follow you more nearly day by day who with the father and the holy spirit are alive and reign one god now and forever are men and the song collect from psalm 80 faithful shepherd of your people as we look for the light of your countenance restore in us the image of your glory and graft us into the risen life of your son jesus christ our lord amen so we say the prayer our lord 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 are men so a moment of silence while we say our own prayers for this day and also perhaps review our own spiritual equipment in our memories and resolve to increase that equipment 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 and to 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 amen so