good morning and welcome to canterbury cathedral the dinery garden on this wet monday morning we found an interval in the rain early in the morning to say our morning prayers together in the orchard it's well moved on now and the fruit is hanging and ripening on the trees showing that the summer is is advancing on to august but here this morning we say our prayers together wherever you are in the world the anniversaries this day are full of the name of de havilland on two counts first of all the famous designer and creator of aircraft sir jeffrey de havilland was born in 1882 in an english rectory today and grew up to be the person who created the most versatile airplane for the royal air force the mosquito and also the first publicly produced jet engined aircraft the comet but at the same time the de havilland name is is here because the actress olivia de havilland died this weekend age 104 in paris star with errol flynn in so many of the films in hollywood in the 1940s and 50s one remembers her in gone with the wind with the the heiress for which she won an oscar and we give thanks for her long life and also for the pleasure that she gave people with her films she filmed with errol flynn elizabeth and essex now for some reason there's a portrait of the earl of essex in the deanery we've no idea why but one remembers him as one of the perpetrators of the greatest betrayal in english history when the queen elizabeth the first who had made so much of him besotted with him and suddenly after a seeming slight he turned against her and tried to raise a revolution and she had to sign the order for his execution after that betrayal we remember all those political anniversaries and also people's anniversaries on this day you will have some of your own this 27th of july as we say our morning prayers o lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise may christ the day star dawn in our hearts and triumph over the shades of night blessed are you creator of all to you be praise and glory forever as your dawn renews the face of the earth bringing light and life to all creation may we rejoice in this day you have made as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep open our eyes to behold your presence and strengthen our hands to do your will that the world may rejoice and give you praise 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 o god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen this 27th morning of the month gives us as our psalms five pilgrim psalms and i'm going to read one of them now 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 so that the sun shall not strike you by day neither the moon by 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 your coming in from this time forth forevermore so we turn once again to our regular reading of st luke we're in chapter 22 beginning at verse 24 jesus and his disciples are around the supper table of the last supper he has broken bread for them he has given them the cup the twelve he has tried to explain what is about to become of the son of man and what this messianic ministry means for him and also for them and we then get this verse in verse 24 a dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest and jesus said to them the kings of the gentiles exercise lordship over them and those in authority over them are called benefactors it must not be so with you rather that the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves for who is the greater one who reclines at table or one who serves is it not the one who reclines at table but i am among you as one who serves you are those who have stayed with me in my trials and i assigned to you as my father assigned to me a kingdom that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of israel i don't know how it must have felt for jesus at this time in his ministry to hear once again when he has tried to help the disciples understand what the kingdom of heaven means what are the qualities of the kingdom of heaven and also what his messianic ministry will mean for him and for them in jerusalem what is about to happen when they leave the supper table and go over to their time in the garden of gethsemane and what happens in luke's gospel the dispute breaks out which of them is the greatest he loves them all remember judas is still sitting there and no doubt those who have helped provide the meal around the supper table there in the upper room so important a space as we go on through luke's gospel and into the acts of the apostles and he begins to share with them what true leadership for them will mean and we get the most powerful image first of all he says it's the kings of the gentiles they've been a habit with the king of egypt the king of syria of taking as one of their titles benefactor of their people so it's for them to do that amongst you the greatest amongst you must be as the youngest maybe that pleased luke a great deal it meant that with the destruction of jerusalem and all that the jerusalem church had meant the younger churches in asia minor had to begin to take leadership roles and those who were scattered and those who would be martyred in the older churches would have gladly to accept that leadership handed on it's always been the way that at the same time here is jesus defining the quality of what that leadership may mean who's greatest here he's saying the one reclining at the table in this customary reclining manner or the one who serves and is it not the one who reclines at the table but and here's the sentence a great sentence i am among you as one who serves normally we think of the i am sentences of jesus belonging to the fourth gospel i am the true vine i am the good shepherd i am the way the truth and the life i am the resurrection and the life and so on but here is jesus in luke with another i am statement i am among you as one who serves and the word for the verb of serbing in the greek is the word for deaconing the acronym luke never uses the noun for deacon but here with reflections on the foot washing in the fourth gospel the serving of the disciples here jesus uses that verb the deaconing the serving of those who are there and this must be your ministry too you're arguing about who is the greatest yes you will be with me in my kingdom but then that kingdom is quite different from earthly kingdoms he has tried to define the qualities and what also those qualities mean in terms of suffering in this world and he talks about them with him remember judas is still at the table he loves them all and would embrace them in his love and we've seen how he rebuked st james and john on the feast of james on friday we saw how he rebuked them for saying shall we call down fire from heaven and destroy these people who won't receive you in their village or hear what you're saying and he rebukes them i always think it must have been the gentlest of rebuke they were meaning to support him i also think that at the supper table his heart was bleeding for judas here are the twelve with all their human frailties as we said they will cause betrayal they will cause denial and they will desert and yet here are the ones to whom he will hand on on this earth the kingdom of heaven and all that comes after how luke must have loved writing those sentences for he had seen the church growing and growing across the mediterranean world he'd seen those who had been youngest take leadership but that leadership never meant the kingship and authority and domination it had always meant serving even with their life's blood those who were in their care deaconing them and the sign of the deacon the towel which jesus wraps around himself to wipe the disciples feet after he has washed them all of them and they have shared his bread at the table so let's say our prayers on this day and we remember on this day in our anglican communion the diocese of nova scotia and prince edward island in canada pray for ronald wayne cutler in his episcopal ministry there and all his people and pray also for the diocese of buda in nigeria for jonah kolo the bishop there and his people and the diocese karachi in pakistan and sadiq daniel the bishop there and his people remembering in those provinces in canada in nigeria in pakistan all that people are facing not least in the coronavirus itself in this diocese as we pray for justin our archbishop and for rose bishop of dover tim bishop at lambeth we remember today the parish of temple yule saint peter and saint paul with lyden st mary the virgin ministry there and the clergy position is vacant but we pray for the church wardens in those churches tom kent and liz waller liz thomas friend and judith schilling as they care for the people in those communities brings for your prayers all those whom you would pray for in your own communities and your faith community leaders and let us say the prayer for this day of the year lord of all power and might the author and giver of all good things graft in our hearts the love of your name increase in us true religion nourish us with all goodness and of your great mercy keep us in the same through jesus christ our lord amen the little prayer at the end of psalm 121 lord ever watchful ever faithful we look to you to be our defense and we lift our hearts to know your help through jesus christ our lord amen let's then say the prayer 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 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 moment of silence for your 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 amen