good morning and welcome to the january garden at canterbury cathedral on this morning of thursday the 21st of october not a pleasant morning here there's rain everywhere it's paused for a moment but i have the umbrella at the ready we've come into the garden here today and we shall continue our thinking about the the various plagues in egypt and today the the creatures are involved in this in egypt and so we've come just here because this uh davidia tree the handkerchief tree behind me is a place where we have used to to bury those uh creatures that we've sadly lost and one of our most beloved creatures was uh leo's father otto a black and white cat a very big cat who died of a a really puzzling brain disorder and uh christoph our vet with with much help from others strove really hard first of all to get a right diagnosis and then to find out what on earth was happening to poor confused otto at the time in the end he was sitting in the middle of the lawn not quite knowing where to come back a very strong and lovely cat you could take him pick him up put him round your neck and uh we have happy memories of him but sadly the completely unidentified disease which took him and this still happens puzzling symptoms and puzzling results uh which in the end still remains a puzzle so otto is is buried here under the davidia tree but so too sadly very recently we lost our lovely white turkey jane in the same way with something and with birds and with fish and with with uh small creatures like like the harvest mice suddenly they can hide all symptoms and then it's too late and and they they die quite quickly and we're we're saying that this morning because we come to a point of the plagues where in one of them it's that the livestock of egypt after all the plagues that that are there which are beginning to suffer so we think of that on this day also we're praying for a friend of ours because she is going into hospital for tests and uh we were wanting to undergird her with prayers this morning so let's say our prayers on this morning of the 21st of october wherever you are please bring your own prayers and intentions as we say our morning prayers together oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise in your resurrection oh christ let heaven and earth rejoice hallelujah 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 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 not an accident that i gave that an easter flavor for in one way every new morning becomes a a time when we give thanks for the resurrection of our lord jesus christ from the dead and triumph of light over darkness and alleluia is the right word to be saying as each new day breaks whatever the lessons of that day as we're taught to give thanks first in our prayers before we go on for every opportunity and every situation now our psalm on this morning is psalm 105 the psalm for the 21st of october i didn't think leo would stay long with this rain spitting in the air at him and that the breeze is really quite cold um so we're going to read the whole of psalm 105 because it tells in some form a sound that jesus would have known well as with all the psalms in what we might call a liturgical musical form the story that we have been telling and you'll recognize the characters you'll recognize absolutely everything as it goes through and we'll rejoice in readings on 105 and equating it with the story we've been telling from exodus and the story which will continue from then on through the wilderness oh give thanks to the lord and call upon his name make known his deeds among the peoples sing to him sing praises and tell of all his marvelous works rejoice in the praise of his holy name let the hearts of them rejoice who seek the lord seek the lord and his strengths seek his face continually remember the marvels he has done his wonders and the judgments of his mouth o seed of abraham his servant o children of jacob his chosen he is the lord our god his judgments are in all the earth he has always been mindful of his covenant the promise that he made for a thousand generations the covenant he made with abraham the oath that he swore to isaac which he established as a statute for jacob as an everlasting covenant for israel saying to you when i give the land of canaan to be the portion of your inheritance when they were but few in number of little account and sojourners in the land wandering from nation to nation from one kingdom to another people he suffered no one to do them wrong and rebuked even kings for their sake saying touch not my anointed and do my profits no harm then he called down famine over the land and broke every staff of bread but he had sent a man before them joseph who was sold as a slave they shackled his feet with setters his neck was ringed with iron until all he foretold came to pass the word of the lord tested him the king sent and released him the ruler of people set him free he appointed him lord of his household and ruler of all he possessed to instruct his princes as he willed and to teach his counselors wisdom then israel came into egypt jacob sergeant in the land of ham and the lord made his people exceedingly fruitful he made them too many for their adversaries whose heart he turned so that they hated his people and dealt crafting with his servants then sent he moses his servant and aaron whom he had chosen he showed his signs through their word and his wonders in the land of ham he sent darkness and it grew dark yet they did not heed his words he turned their waters into blood and slew all their fish their land swarmed with frogs even in their king's chambers he spoke the word and there came clouds of flies swarms of gnats within all their borders he gave them hailstones for rain and flames of lightning in their land he blasted their vines and their fig trees and shattered trees across their country he spoke the word and the grasshoppers came and young locusts without number they at every plant in their land and devoured the fruit of their soil he smote all the firstborn in their land the first fruits of all their strength and then he brought them out with silver and gold there was not one among their tribes that stumbled egypt was glad at their departing for a dread of them had fallen upon them and he spread out a cloud for a covering and a fire to light up the night they asked and he brought them quails he satisfied them with the bread of heaven he opened the rock and the waters gushed out and ran in the dry places like a river for he remembered his holy word and abraham his servant so he brought forth his people with joy his chosen ones with singing he gave them the lands of the nations and they took possession of the fruit of their toil that they might keep his statutes and faithfully observe his laws alleluia a marvelous psalm taking us through everyone that we've been looking at through these months through to joseph sold as a slave and blessed by god in egypt through to jacob or israel as he's called bringing his families into egypt and then into the ministry of moses and aaron jesus would have known all this by heart and when we sing that psalm there is a sense of that history of the chosen people being told and the lord's anointed one who came from that nation would have known those sounds so psalm 105 could not be more appropriate on this morning as we go on with our story from the book of the exodus and go again to the story of plagues in egypt we are in chapter eight and sorry we're in chapter nine and we're starting at verse one the fifth plague then the lord said to moses go into pharaoh and say to him thus says the lord the god of the hebrews let my people go that they may serve me for if you refuse to let them go and still hold them behold the hand of the lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field the horses the donkeys the camels the herds and the flocks but the lord will make a distinction between the livestock of israel and the livestock of egypt so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of israel shall die and the lord set a time saying tomorrow the lord will do this thing in this land and the next day the lord did this thing all the livestock of the egyptians died but not one of the livestock of the people of israel died and pharaoh sent and behold not one of the livestock of israel was dead but the heart of pharaoh was hardened and he did not let the people go the lord said to moses and aaron take handfuls of soot from the kiln and let moses throw them in the air in the sight of pharaoh it shall become fine dust over all the land of egypt and become boils breaking out in sores on humankind and beasts throughout all the land of egypt so they took soot from the kiln and stood before pharaoh and moses threw it in the air and it became boils breaking out in sores on humankind and beast and the magicians could not stand before moses because of the boils for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the egyptians but the lord hardened the heart of pharaoh and he didn't listen to them as the lord had spoken to moses i said that the psalm was told in a sing-song liturgical form so that it could be passed on by word of mouth and known by heart and mind well so too this story put together by many hands over the years and harking back to accounts which have been told as let's think again in the book of daniel where verses recur and recur as though they're waiting as when you tell a children's tale and when the chorus comes back they all say it with you and here we are in this story with disasters happening we've seen that across our world at the moment in so many different places this is a strange time in the planet's history as this happens and humankind are doing their best both to understand and combat in the best way all is going on well in the end the blame for all that is going on landed on the hebrew people living in a different part of egypt and their livestock mostly their sheep not touched by this but at the same time blame people always look for someone to blame when when things of this sort are going on particularly when we can't understand what's happening it's a natural knee-jerk reaction this blame and pharaoh is not only blaming but he has in mind still the economic force of all those that he's made slaves and he's been asked by moses and air and simply to let them go let the whole economy of egypt perish is perishing anyway because of the natural disasters that are going on and now he's being asked to do this as well well the story begins to tell itself as the the almost a sing-song nature of the plagues which we saw in the the psalm 105 and uh certainly um handel used the their land swarmed with frogs even in their king's chambers from psalm 105 not from the book of exodus when he wrote his his uh his great kantar his great oratorio egypt in israel in egypt just as haydn had used psalm 104 the psalm before when he wrote his great oratorio the creation because psalm 104 is all about the glory of creation psalm 105 is historical and that rhythm of the way in which humankind and every living thing responds to natural catastrophes in the planet but also sees them as signs where we're doing this ourselves at present and you've got both a sickness of beasts and a sickness of humankind resulting from the plagues that have gone before it's as though the whole thing is opening up into that kind of of of uh sequence of the way in which the the the trees at the moment are are certain um uh varieties of trees the ash tree for example here in the garden even the chestnut with its leaf blotches but the ash tree with the ash dieback these sequences come right across the earth and we remember them sometimes so let me just go on to some dates for this morning sometimes though the disaster is prompted by bad actions of humankind themselves this is the anniversary of a terrible tragedy in 1966 in wales on that day at the little village of aberfan the huge coal tip the of colory spoil a huge what we used to call slag heaps right up right up high above the village and there were seven of those around the valleys there which had been placed there by the national code board but this one had within it a hidden danger it having been placed there breaking all rules that no heap of that kind of of of colliery spoil should be placed over natural springs because the danger was in the natural springs in making that a liquid heap of slurry and rain and rain and rain had come down and then on an ordinary school day in the little junior school the panglass junior school the village of aberfan just suddenly without any warning whatsoever the whole massive mountain to the children there of slurry slid down across the village covering the school and a row of houses and on this day suddenly killing 116 children and 28 adults an ordinary school day and just sliding down and the the nation not just wales but the whole of these islands and any watching across the world were in shock and afterwards uh and it was found to be uh a blameworthy offense from the national kell board and and that was taken up when the investigations were were held but it nothing could bring back the children and the adults who died and nothing rubs out the tragedy of that disaster looking like a natural disaster but at the heart of it was human behavior in a particular way and that memory we remember today on this 21st of october and still pray for the repose of the souls of those who died and those who still mourn their loss the the the community afterwards suffered severely with medical problems and also post traumatic stress disorder who can who can in any way wonder at that so that kind of of of uh coming together of of natural things because the springs got stronger and stronger as the rains fell over the weeks before and then suddenly all this happened as a result of having placed it there against all rules this is a time when we're concentrating we've done this ourselves in morning prayer on how we care for our planet but how we care for the life of the planet not just our own lives but livestock and and trees and plants because everything is playing its part in this wonderfully and let's say sophisticated order of the gift of the planet in its whole life from the creator and the new every morning as the sun rises causes us to say alleluia but there are dark times too when we think of days like this today also i'll just mention this because it has a sort of local connection here 21st of october is trafalgar day in 1805 uh um admiral horatio nelson with the english fleet defeated the combined french and spanish fleets at the battle of trafalgar and it meant that sea power came to these islands at that time so that that there was a sense of defense there against the building up of the napoleonic empires which then turned themselves on napoleon turned himself more into into europe itself and driving in the end as far as moscow where the turn came around but on this day trafalgar and nelson himself of course the radio nelson was shot dead on on the the uh the ship the victory uh he was struck down by a sniper's bullet from a a french battleship and carried below where where he died why i said there's a local connection the house next door lineker house which is a boy's house and at the moment we're very conscious of the school houses around because tonight is house song contest when every one of the houses of our king's school our cathedral school will sing a song in competition it's a great choir of the whole house competing against one another and so we've been regaled with the songs of the houses around us coming through windows and the lineker song we we know by heart and it's very pleasant and we wish them well tonight because there are near neighbors but i say it because in 1805 when horatio nelson died the nation wanting to give him a title and an estates but they couldn't because he was dead so they gave it to his brother who of all things was a cannon of canterbury cannon nelson living in lineker house next door and that he was given the title the first l nelson and uh at the same time a great estate traffic house in in in wiltshire um but he chose to stay on and continue his life as a cannon of canterbury so we could tell many stories about that but it's just a a a little memory of trafalgar day a very important day for the royal navy here today and then this is the day in 1772 the 21st of october when the poet samuel taylor coleridge was born he was born at ottery saint mary in devon where his father was the parish priest and brought up there in devon to begin with but of course we know him best as one of the lake poets and friend of william wordsworth and his sister dorothy and they became quite a trio early in life and there were two happy years when they were living in somerset coleridge at netherstowy and uh uh wordsworth took al foxton and so in somerset some of coleridge's best poetry formed later in life he suffered with what we would now call bipolar disease it was clearly identified at that time he also to try and combat all the effects of that took opium and and that damaged him and his health a great deal later but these times were happy times in in 1797 to 98 that sort of time and he wrote at that time probably his best known poem which is the rhyme of the ancient mariner that is about life and death and consequence and the natural order and sin and forgiveness and it's long but it is wonderful i'm not going to read it all because it is very long but i think it it it deserves an airing this morning because of the themes that it's dealing with particularly in creation it starts like this i'll read the beginning because this you will will know but the whole poem really needs to be read and i'll i'll just read another section or two afterwards this is coleridge the rhyme of the ancient mariner it is an ancient mariner and he swapped one of three by thy long grey beard and glittering eye now wherefore stops thou me the bridegroom's doors are open wide and i am next of kin and the guests are met the feast is set must hear the meridian he holds him with his skinny hand there was a ship chris he hold off unhand me greybeard loon left soon's his hands dropped he he holds him with his glittering eye the wedding guest stood still and listens like a three years child the mariner has his will the wedding guest sat on a stone he cannot choose but here and thus spake on that ancient man the bright-eyed mariner and you remember the mariner tells the story in a hypnotic way and the rhythms keep us going just as psalm 105 does or the way in which the the story of the plagues is set out and he tells the story of how on a voyage he was on a wonderful albatross followed them and would perch on them on the the spas of the mast and the there was a good south wind and i'm going on from just at the end of part one into part two this is probably the bit i know best a good south wind sprung up behind the albatross did follow and every day for food or play came to the mariners hollow in mr cloud on master shroud it perched for vespers nine while all the night through fog smoke white glimmered the white moonshine god saved the ancient mariner from the fiends that plagued thee thus why look so so with my crossbow i shot the albatross the sun now rose up on the right out of the sea came here still hidden mist and on the left went down into the sea and the good south wind still blew behind but no sweet bird did follow nor any day for food or play came to the mariners hollow and i had done a hellish thing and it would work them woe for all of urge i had killed the bird that made the breeze to blow our wretch said they the bird to slay that made the breeze to blow nor dim nor red like god's own head the glorious sun up wrist then all avert i'd killed the bird that brought the fog and mist twas right said they said birds to slay they bring the fog and mist the fair breeze blew the white floam flew the furrow followed free we were the first that ever burst into that silent sea down dropped the breeze the sails dropped down to as sad as sad could be and we did speak only to break the silence of the sea all in a hot and copper sky the bloody sun at noon right up above the masted stand no bigger than the moon day after day day after day we stuck nor breath nor motion as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean water water everywhere and all the boards did shrink water water everywhere nor any drop to drink do you remember how they hung the albatross around his neck and people began to die because they were becomed and water was running out and he was blamed for this and then we come to the point where one night by moonlight with the albatross hung around his neck he's looking into the sea the moving moon went up the sky and nowhere did abide softly she was going up and a star or two beside her beams be mocked the sultry mane like april horfrost spread but where the ship's huge shadow lay the charming water burnt away a still and awful red beyond the shadow of the ship i watched the water snakes they moved in tracks of shining white and when they reared the elfish light fell off in hoary flakes within the shadow of the ship i watched their rich attire blue glossy green and velvet black they coiled and swam and every track was a flash of golden fire oh happy living things no tongue their beauty might declare a spring of love gushed from my heart and i blessed them unaware sure my kind saint took pity on me and i blessed them unaware the self same moment i could pray and from my neck so free the albatross fell off and sank like lead into the sea poem goes on and the blessing goes on and rain begins to fall and a breeze is strung up but the way in which day by day that forgiveness which the mariner is asking for is restored is by him telling the tale sharing the tale and it's the wedding guest who's been clawed by his thin hand to hear the tale so that the blessing of forgiveness might be given again an acknowledgement of what was and the sense that his heart awakened to bless living creation and the blessing returned to all as breeze and fresh water began to rain down upon them and yet the telling of the tale and acknowledging goes on just as saint peter wanted the tale of his denial told in the gospel of saint mark so we'd tell it and tell it and tell it but forgiveness is given the moment the penitence is there in the right way it was the disregarding of the beauty of the albatross and the shooting of it that caused the sign as far as he saw and the blame as far as the others saw on him and then the beauty of this the sea snakes in the moonlight which caused his sense of forgiveness so all of those things we remember on this particular day as we give thanks for live creation all around us and the spotting of rain falling on me this morning and a cold breeze as well we give thanks for the creativity and poetry of coleridge but we also give thanks for the creativity and poetry of the unknown psalmists going throughout history which jesus himself used the psalmist and taking prophecy from the psalmists like psalm 91 he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep the in all my ways and all the all those those things we remember in terms of creativity but we are surrounded by the life of the planet which is our responsibility to be good stewards for at this time so let us say our prayers on this day and uh today we are praying in the anglican communion for the diocese of graham's town in the anglican church of southern africa and here in this diocese for justin our archbishop for rose bishop of dover emma bishop at lambeth and today for the parish of saint margaret at cliff with westcliff and east langdon with west langdon and the ministry of kaz reeves so let's say our colleague for this week and bring your own intentions and prayers in sadness or joy as we say the connect god the giver of life whose holy spirit wells up within your church by the spirit's gifts equip us to live the gospel of christ and make us eager to do your will that we may share with the whole creation the joys of eternal life through jesus christ our lord amen so each in our own language the 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 lead us not into temptation but to deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever are men moment of silence now for our own prayers [Applause] we remember as we say our prayers this morning that the ancient mariner's blessing came when his heart was moved with love a stream of love from him because of the beauty of the creatures and he blessed them and that the blessing of life and on this planet is here this this tree the davidia was planted there it's quite a young tree and as i've said we've we've we've buried there otto and and jane but right across the garden the autumn is causing things to just die back into the ground and to spring up again is as a sign of new life and that life eternal as we began the morning saying that it's always good to claim resurrection and say an alleluia so as we think of the sequence of life and death going on around us in green things and also that opening into the eternal world then we give thanks that our hearts can be moved to bless one another and all creation for the love we feel at the the creator's gift but also the sense of the precious gift of new life day by day eternal life offered to us as a gift by the creator through the anointing of his son into art and his sharing of our human state 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 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 you