good morning and welcome on this 25th day of may a bank holiday a public holiday in england today and there are many things that we could be celebrating and commemorating today it is africa day so we pray for all those keeping that throughout the world the same time the 25th of may was the day on which sint oldhelm of sherban died he was a hugely important missionary saint in the west of england in the seventh century and we commemorate him these days as the patron of songwriters and musicians we shall have time to think of him on different days because today is a day when i want to commemorate someone who is special to canterbury on this day year by year i have grown used to welcoming a multitude of pilgrims who have walked here from the church of saint martin in the fields in trafalgar square to commemorate the vision of their vicar the reverend dick shepherd who was there vicar from 1914 to 1926. dick had a particular vision which we shall think about he came on to be dean of canterbury his health was rather broken by then and he was here a short time but because of the quality and courage of his vision for ministry he transformed the spirit of this place so both sin martin in the fields and canterbury cathedral have caused to give enormous thanks for dick and the physical link which is established on this day year by year is that folk have walked from saint martins to lay flowers on the grave of dick shepherd in the cloister and to tell their story a story which is a wonderful one as we shall see so let's say our morning prayers and keep all this in mind as we use our reflection afterwards for this o lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise send your holy spirit upon us and clothe us with power from on high alleluia blessed are you creator god to you be praise and glory forever as your spirit moved over the face of the waters bringing light and life to your creation pour out your spirit on us today that we may walk as children of light and by your grace reveal your presence 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 psalm on this 25th morning of the month is a section of psalm 119 going to begin at verse 33 teach me o lord the way of your statutes and i shall keep it to the end give me understanding and i shall keep your law i shall keep it with my whole heart lead me in the path of your commandments for therein is my delight incline my heart to your testimonies and not to unjust gain turn away my eyes lest they gaze on vanities oh give me life in your ways confirm to your servant your promise which stands for all who fear you turn away the reproach which i dread because your judgments are good behold i long for your commandments in your righteousness give me life remember your word to your servant on which you have built my hope this is my comfort in my trouble that your promise gives me life the proud have derided me cruelly but i have not turned aside from your law i have remembered your everlasting judgments o lord and have been comforted i am seized with indignation at the wicked for they have forsaken your law your statutes have been like songs to me in the house of my pilgrimage i have thought on your name in the night oh lord and so have i kept your law these blessings have been mine for i have kept your commandments we continue on this day with our reading of the gospel of saint luke and we are in chapter seven beginning at verse 36. one of the pharisees asked jesus to eat with him and he went into the pharisees house and reclined at table and behold a woman of the city who was a sinner when she learned that he was reclining at table in the pharisees house brought an alabaster flask of ointment and standing behind him at his feet weeping she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment now when the pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself if this man were a prophet he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him for she is a sinner jesus answering said to him simon i have something to say to you and simon answered say it teacher jesus said a certain money lender had two debtors one owed 500 in re the other 50. when they could not pay he cancelled the debt of both now which of them will love him more simon answered the one i suppose for whom he cancelled the larger debt and jesus said to him you have judged rightly then turning towards the woman he said to simon do you see this woman i entered your house you gave me no water for my feet but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair you gave me no kiss but from the time i came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet you did not anoint my head with oil but she has anointed my feet with ointment therefore i tell you her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much but he who is forgiven little loves little and jesus said to the woman your sins are forgiven then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves who is this who even forgive sins jesus said to the woman your faith has saved you go in peace it's a lovely gospel to read on this day something about jesus has caused the woman to know something about herself and she has come in sorrow luke leaves so many of those who are healed and forgiven sensitively anonymous we have no idea who this woman is but what we do know is that because of the new things about herself that jesus by his presence in their community was showing she had courage enough to approach him with the others sitting there reclining there at table observing she wept and she kissed and anointed jesus's feet but notice what jesus says after he has told this telling story to the pharisee who was his host he says your faith has saved you to the woman because something within her has moved and given her a completely new beginning we find that for men and women throughout the gospel of saint luke and throughout all the gospels and through christian history and nobody nobody realized that more than dick shepard for he in trafalgar square had a kind of intuition about what people needed to give them new vision new courage new strengths and yet he himself was a person who both doubted himself suffered from terrible ill health and asthmatic conditions and at the same time was liable to go into the depths of depression and yet his vision his ministry his life for it won and he called people to him so that when in 1937 he died the whole of saint paul's cathedral was filled with people who were grateful for that ministry and that ministry was one that during the worst the worst times of the great war when troops were arriving back at charing cross station from the front he mobilized his congregation to provide blankets and hot drinks and the church thrown open to allow them to sleep in the worn out and in need of new vision and afterwards when the great pandemic of influenza began to strike in london from all over the world it was dick who continued that ministry and that ministry and vision was continued then by his congregation and by those who were really enthused by it and inspired by it today that ministry for folk who need it so much is called the connection you can make what you want of that word for it's a beautiful word a connection between the values of heaven and the condition of folk who are being awakened to a sense of new vision new life and being embraced and included that one of the best things about the pilgrimage today year by year is that the people who make up that pilgrimage are those who have been helped by the ministry the liturgical ministry the music of the church of sin martial in the field and those who have not only been helped but whose lives have been transformed and they're very ready to tell that story at the grave of dick shepherd new beginnings when dick came here he was almost a spent force and yet the light within him shone bright and we give thanks for that ministry today later i shall go and lay flowers on behalf of the pilgrims on the grave of dick shepherd in the cloister because they themselves would have done that but virtually they will see me do that and maybe there's one other thing i need to say about dick shepard he was one of the first who realized the power of broadcasting in fact he was criticized for broadcasting the gospel across the airwaves of radio and yet he said in that first broadcast he reached more people with the good news of jesus than he had done through the whole of his ministry until that time he was a pioneer a pioneer for peace a pioneer for new life who needed it most and we give such great thanks to him today i've sat in this space particularly because the photograph of him with his great dane is taken in front of this door here and he was here such a short time but the dimension of his ministry remains with us as we say our prayers this morning so let us pray this morning for our anglican communion of course and for the nasir diocese in south sudan for simon liul bang zhao the bishop there and his people the diocese of agra in north india and for prem prakash habil the minute the bishop there and his people and the diocese of indianapolis in the episcopal church of the united states and for jennifer baskerville burroughs the bishop there and her people in our diocese we are praying for the rural community during this covid19 crisis and those who minister in very rural areas and we also pray today for the ministry of the church of saint martin in the fields inspired by dick shepherd we pray for sam wells and the ministry team there and give thanks for the vision of that continuing ministry so let us say our prayers this morning first of all the prayer for this day o god the king of glory you have exalted your only son jesus christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven we beseech you leave us not comfortless but send your holy spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our savior christ has gone before who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god now and forever are men and a prayer of thanksgiving for the ministry of dick shepherd and that that might inspire us intuitively to realize people's needs with compassion and be brave to meet them almighty god who enlightened your church by the life and courageous teaching of your servant dick shepherd enrich it ever more with your heavenly grace and raise us raise up in every age faithful witnesses who by their life and teaching may proclaim the truth of your salvation through jesus christ our lord amen so we come to say the prayer that jesus taught us to say whenever we meet together in prayer in whatever language and in whatever 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 so a moment of quiet for your own prayers and for you to remember those for whom you would like to pray gods give you grace to follow dick shepherd and all his saints in faith and hope and courage and most of all in love and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you and upon those whom you love and those for whom you would pray this day and always amen