good morning and welcome to the dinery garden at canterbury cathedral wherever you are in the world feel welcome on this thursday of easter week thursday april the 8th as we gather together for morning prayer you will perhaps notice that we've come back to the scene we used right at the beginning of the good friday three hour devotion the scene of the upper room because our easter reflection today is from st john's gospel once again with the disciples there and uh so many of these things in st john's gospel are reminiscences with the disciples of what was said we read right back in chapter 2 of the fourth gospel when jesus has cleansed the temple that the disciples after he had been raised from the dead remembered and there's an awful lot of going back to remember the signs and all the prophecies that jesus spoke about the end of st luke's gospel he says to them all that was prophesied in the law of moses in the psalms and the prophets has been fulfilled in me and as we do that to make it a present tense we remember back and sift through all those scenes and happenings as signs of what is to be now and will be beyond so if you want to return to that reflection because it was a very long one on good friday afternoon with many scenes you can still do that simply by uh typing into your of your screen canterbury cathedral uh youtube and then do the good friday which was i think april the second and that will come up the easier way to do it is if you're watching us this morning on your website to become a subscriber to youtube to canterbury cathedral at the bottom subscribe there's no cost to that at all but it means that things will come up automatically when you press the subscriber in that way and you can go back to reflect next week particularly when we're dealing with the great i am sentences we'll have an awful lot of reminiscences of the disciples post-resurrection looking back on what they remember jesus saying and that will become part of all that we're doing i think also for those of you in the garden congregation who kept should we call it a workbook a journey book through lent now is the time to look back on those things and reflect on how in the present tense in these 40 days of easter one can begin to say so what do these things mean in this resurrection time of year as we go up to pentecost with the the total receiving of the gift of the spirit but all those things we've days to talk about but for the moment we've come back to this scene the first of the six scenes that we used on good friday afternoon and now we're using it in a resurrection way but let's start our morning prayers oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise in your resurrection o christ let heaven and earth rejoice alleluia blessed are you lord god of our salvation to you be praise and glory forever as once you ransomed your people from egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen son may we the first fruits of your new creation rejoice in this new day you have made and praise you for your mighty acts blessed be god father son and holy spirit blessed be god forever 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 o god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen our psalm on this eighth morning of the month is psalm 40. i waited patiently for the lord he inclined to me and heard my cry he brought me out of the roaring pit out of the mire and clay he set my feet upon a rock and made by footing shore he has put a new song in my mouth a song of praise to our god many shall see and fear and put their trust in the lord blessed is the one who trusts in the lord who does not turn to the proud that follow a lie great are the wonders you have done o lord my god how great your designs for us there is none that can compare with you if i were to proclaim them and tell of them they would be more than i am able to express sacrifice and offering you do not desire but my ears you have opened but offering and sacrifice for sin you have not required then said i lo i come in the scroll of the book it is written of me that i should do your will oh my god i delight to do it your law is within my heart i have declared your righteousness in the great congregation behold i did not restrain my lips and that o lord you know your righteousness i have not hidden in my heart i have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation i have not concealed your loving kindness and truth from the great congregation do not withhold your compassion from me o lord let your love and your faithfulness always preserve me for innumerable troubles have come about me my sins have overtaken me so that i cannot look up they are more in number than the hairs of my head and my heart fails me be pleased o lord to deliver me o lord make haste to help me let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed who seek after my life to destroy it let them be driven back and put to shame who wish me evil that those who heap insults upon me be desolate because of their shame but let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad that those who love your salvation say always the lord is great though i am poor and needy the lord cares for me you are my helper and my deliverer oh my god make no delay great sentences in that psalm about the offering of oneself and particularly the offering of jesus himself and offering a sacrifice for sin you have not required then said i lo i come in the scroll of the book it is written of me that i should do your will oh my god the vocation of our lord jesus christ and also our own vocation in these resurrection days so let's go to the gospel of saint john now for this morning's passage and picture in the sequence of resurrection narratives and i'm in chapter 20 of saint john's gospel and beginning at verse 19 on the evening of that day the first day of the week the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the jews jesus came and stood among them and said to them peace be with you when he had said this he showed them his hands and his side then the disciples were glad when they saw the lord jesus said to them again peace be with you as the father has sent me even so i am sending you and when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them receive the holy spirit if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them if you withhold forgiveness from any it is withheld now thomas one of the twelve called the twin was not with them when jesus came so the other disciples told him we have seen the lord but thomas said to them unless i see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side i will never believe eight days later his disciples were inside again and thomas was with them although the doors were locked jesus came and stood among them and said peace be with you then he said to thomas put your finger here and see my hands and put your hand here and place it on my side do not disbelieve but believe thomas answered him my lord and my god jesus said to him have you believed because you have seen me blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed let's start this where it begins they are in lockdown eight days later they will still be in lockdown the doors were locked for fear of the jews of the jewish authorities who had seen to it that jesus was crucified that all that he represented in terms of trouble for them was gone and here are the disciples locked in to the upper room so we've come back here to this place where so much happened as i say i point you back to the first scene of the good friday three-hour devotion so much happened in that upper room even then we had no time on friday last to think about all the things that were said and we shall spend much of next week in our morning prayers thinking about what jesus shared with his disciples as set out in the fourth gospel and thinking also of the evangelists words not just once but on several occasions in saint john's gospel that after he was raised from the dead they remembered that he had said these things we they remembered that this was fulfilled it brings it for them into the present tense and hearing those words this morning brings it for us into the present tense the situation is one of fear and we are on the first day of the week remember a working day the sabbath had been the day before and all sorts of things have happened but jesus comes and stands amongst them we're now in the picture of resurrection which like all the other pictures of resurrection is as an intimate those who are in the room are all known to jesus and the general group of disciples we don't know that it was just the 11 as they now are it it was the wider group remember in luke's gospel the mother of jesus the brothers of jesus locked in for fear and that group all that we do know is that they were well known to jesus and well known to each other and jesus comes and stands amongst them and i suppose there is a nervousness in that the last time that there had been a presence of jesus with them so many of them had let him down and jesus's words which the church in its life and these resurrection narratives give the seed of the church's life in so many ways the things that we do and say generate from this upper room of the last supper and the upper room of the lockdown which on pentecost cost day all doors will be open and the power of the spirit will cause that little group to be more than just the seed of the church but the growing and fruiting life of the church in the present tense even to this day but so many of these things will recognize from our worship and one of them is the words of jesus peace be with you well of course we say that to each other constantly when we break bread together peace be with you being in a sense reconciled before the body of jesus is taken and shared and usually we would give a physical sign of of a handshake or an embrace or whatever but physical signs are forbidden to us at the moment and so if we're in worship together we tend to do it with a gesture a gesture of a bow or hands outstretched but the words are there peace be with you from a masked congregation seeking each other's welfare but not only remembering the words of jesus but actually living them out and having had those words said we read the sentence then were the disciples glad when they saw the lord jesus says again peace be with you everything is right between us and then because all things in this fourth gospel are complete the gift of that spirit is given to them then and a foretaste of the pentecost experience which comes later receive the holy spirit which is really saying the job is yours now present tense you're saying it to them he's saying it to us with those words receive the holy spirit and also the spirit of the power of forgiveness within you deep within you for whoever sins you forgive then there is forgiveness between you and because of the spirit between you and the one who sent jesus and through the spirit gave us that spirit if you retain then somehow the sin is retained in them but is also retained in you for that sense of not being able to give forgiveness is that all these things will open out into the life of the church with healing but let's go on to the next part of the story because here again is someone else certainly there was someone who wasn't there on that occasion and that's thomas thomas who the last time we had him speak i think in uh saint john's gospel was when jesus said we must go to bethany because our friend lazarus is is sick unto death lazarus has died and thomas in a way he might be saying it bravely but you sort of feel with thomas there's a well we better go that we'll die also because the jewish authorities have just been trying to kill you there and we came away to escape and we're going back so thomas now has come back and he's with them and jesus stands there again amongst them same words peace be with you settling things between them all is well but she's also saying that he has heard those words of thomas unless i put my finger into the marks of the nails my hand injuries i will not believe and jesus stands offering that opportunity remember each resurrection appearance is tailored to the needs of the person that jesus knows well mary magdalene don't touch me but go to my brothers and tell them and in that go forward he makes her the apostle to the apostles i have seen the lord and now here's thomas who's going to be offered what he needs but he doesn't need it now the words of the lord are enough and the response and here's another for our backpack it's it must be in our memories my lord and my god many people i've heard whisper that when the sacrament is given to them at the altar my lord and my god to themselves as they say in our men to the sacrament the bread being given but once again we're in the present tense those words become ours there's no need for a book they're so easy to remember as are all the resurrections uh sentences and that becomes such an important fact so that in our explorations it becomes uh a thing that we can carry with us the upper room still has the locked doors and that will be different but for the moment equipment is being given to those with these resurrection narratives who are friends of jesus and the fourth gospel above all else with its i am present sentence present tense sentences which we'll think about next week from the farewell discourses as they tend to be called around the supper table and as they're spoken there's a completion a feeling that all is right between us and the lord and when it's not his words of forgiveness at our repentance will remake us peace be with you but it's not enough just to receive the peace there's a commission that goes with it receive the holy spirit go out and give god's good news god's forgiveness to the world and as you give it feel yourself forgiven in the same way for forgiveness is a healing balm which goes around and recreates people in this way each scene of the resurrection a wonderful scene and this one no less which we'll come back to let's think a little bit about um this morning as we tend to on these occasions the 8th of april in 1093 the new winchester cathedral was dedicated and we remember that and therefore pray for the the life of dean catherine there and the life of winchester cathedral which is such a beautiful and vibrant place and at the same time on this day and here's a a traveling link uh brunel ismbald kingdom brunel the great engineer of the 19th century his huge steamship the great western crossed the atlantic and did it in 15 days which was half the time the fastest sailing ship at that time would have taken and became the first steam ship regularly to make the crossing backwards and forwards how that desire to be together opens up throughout the world in these years through railway through steamships 1889 the conductor the english conductor adrian bolt was born and one gives thanks for himself for so many so so many performances and his wonderful interpretation of elgar's dream of jarontius which is an absolutely amazing uh interpretation of all of that but the great thing about zoradrim belt was there were no histrionics when you were standing behind him conducting you hardly saw his body move for all the movement was in the delicate movements of his hand which were accentuated by his battle but nevertheless your focus was never disturbed by the conductor in that way there are different styles of conducting of course but here's a was a very gentle realm of almost coaxing the music out of people as jesus coaxes the gifts of the spirit out of us 1904 on this day the antonte cordial between england or great britain rather and france the united kingdom and france was signed and it was an on taunt not an alliance but an ontart a sign of friendship the imaginative work really of the um then conservative foreign secretary lord lansdowne but also helped by the immense popularity of king edward vii because of his love for paris and the enjoyment of paris by by edward vii at that time and so there was a great faking of him and queen alexandra in in paris and the on taunt of course grew into a friendship because britain and france had been enemies in history many times even for a hundred years war but the entrance was a sign of a future pointing forward and we hope that will continue and then in 1946 on this day the league of nations had its last meeting in geneva the second world war had ended and it was really a wind-up to dissolve the league of nations which had been the world council between the wars between the great war and the second world war and in 1946 when it was dissolved then the united nations was born and we still pray for and rejoice in the united nations and all its agencies at this time 2013 on this day baroness sanchez died who had been a strong prime minister and a controversial prime minister as well from 1979 to 1990 here in the united kingdom and she had won three different elections one after the other which was a record in the 20th century and of course was the very first woman to be prime minister of the united kingdom so we remember her on this day but there's one thing i wanted to remember which was an experience that we both had in the town of iaer in southern france right on the coast there between toulon and santropay looking out at the sea uh and it was a place where where many would go and rest particularly in the 19th century and lovely villas were were created there so that the the train could take them down there from right across france but when we went there we climbed up high and found the chateau which is on the top the castle santa clara and you look right out over the sea and there's a house which has been developed in the late 19th century out of the convent which it was before and around beautiful gardens it was developed by colonel olivier voutier and we can speak about the gardens it's not that i want to speak about it's the fact that olivier vuittier in 1820 on this day april the 8th was a young ensign in the royal french navy of the restored bourbon king louis the 18th the younger brother of louis xvi who had been guillotined earlier and the the bourbon monarchy was restored and uh olivier boucier was serving in the royal navy of france at that time and the ship he was on which was called the estafete had a day's rest just off milos and routier was a an amateur um archaeologist in his way and and went to the island of milos with a boat and was seeing if there was anything that that he could see in terms of classical history to to find and he saw a farmer a greek farmer now all of these islands and greece itself were then in the hands of the ottoman empire and under the the reign of the sultan in constantinople but vutier saw a greek farmer jorgos catrotas um just with some stones on the floor burying it finding stones to rebuild a wall and he went up to him and saw that this this stone that he had this piece of marble was something rather more interesting and he paid the farmer to excavate further and three pieces were found and this proved to be the venus to melo so that the young man had found the venus de milo with the help of yogoskatrotas so he went back and uh the french consul was then summoned who went to see this who took another archaeologist with him and then the sultan government in constantinople was informed and the ambassador the french ambassador there the organized the purchase of this statue in its pieces and the gift was given to louis the 18th and of course the statue now stands in the louvre so what is when one goes to ear what is uh remembered of olivier routier you can rejoice in the beautiful gardens and all the trouble he took he the next year resigned his commission in the french navy and joined the independence army of greece like lord byron to fight for greek independence and eventually he became a colonel in the greek army and was honored there but came back to france when greece got its independence and set up home in er and what is extraordinary is that just having a little bit of information and being ready with a watchful eye for things which might be there caused all that to happen and i think it's the same really with the present tense of the resurrection narratives we're looking around for treasures for our own lives and they might be all unexpected and yet what we find with the help and encouragement of others and also a little bit of assiduous planning afterwards can be a gift to the whole of the church or the whole of the world or the whole of your community or the friends around you or your family or to yourself and all the resurrection narratives speak in that way the air is a precious spot for us looking out over the mediterranean it's a beautiful spot we won't be going there for some time yet because of all the the uh the lockdowns and uh we're waiting for those lockdowns like the upper room to open so that we can travel again and be there but this morning let's give thanks for olivier boutie and his insight and then his passion for the greek people afterwards and the giving up of his own career and going to fight as i say lord byron did for um the the independence of greece from the ottoman empire so let's uh let's say our prayers on this day bits of history but an awful lot of gospel and also wonderful images of the beginning of the life of the church we're praying on this day for uh the diocese of benthu in the province of the episcopal church of south sudan it's in the upper nile province there and we are praying also um continuing to pray for archbishop justin for bishop rose of dover bishop tim at lambus and continuing to pray for the parishes and villages and communities around the town of sandwich and over the next few days and into next week we shall be remembering those parishes by name as we go through so today we remember all those who are chaplains in organizations in that area of this place in kent this area of kent let's pray for one another but also bring your own concerns this morning as we pray here's the easter collect lord of all life and power who through the mighty resurrection of your son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him grant that we being dead to sin and alive to you in jesus christ may reign with him in glory to whom with you and the holy spirit be praise and honor glory and might now and in all eternity amen so did we say the prayer in whatever language you'd like to use that 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 to deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom of power and the glory forever and ever amen moment of silence now as you say your own prayers for this day [Music] the god of peace who brought again from the dead our lord jesus christ that great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight 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 are men and having told that story to someone uh about olivier boucier they found a book and sent it to me uh by gregory curtis and it's entitled disarmed the story of the venus tomilo so if you want to explore further that book is i think still in print good morning tiger how are you all right you come out peacefully to be here with us this morning as we say our prayers good to see you you have something to eat no [Music] you'd rather have a little bit of companionship than you [Music] [Music] [Music] you