good morning and welcome on this sunday morning the 22nd of november to the dinner garden at canterbury cathedral it's a still grey autumn day here in kent in england but wherever you are in the world please feel welcome this is the last sunday of the christian year next week sunday advent sunday begins a new christian year but this feast is kept as the feast of christ the king and that will be one element of our worship this morning also it's november the 22nd which is the feast day of saint cecilia who is the patron saint of music and musicians and that too will be a joyful theme in our service this morning but the 22nd of november for those of us who were alive at the time and and old enough to remember is one of those days and one of those moments in a day when we shall never forget where we were just like 9 11 but this was in 1963 it's the day that president john f kennedy was assassinated in dallas and we remember the shock of that day and so on this day we pray for all world leaders and think of them and the dangers that they face one or two things i shall need to put by for later in the week because on the very same day that the president was assassinated c.s lewis died but we will leave thinking about him until a later day because we have too many themes this morning to think about but we might think of this day and this weekend with the city of sunderland it in 1808 thomas cook was born the english travel agent and one remembers that last year another shock was the the uh going into receivership and the end of that travel company which had gone on for so long but somebody stepped forward john hayes of hayes travel and his wife irene stepped forward and saved 2500 of the jobs at great cost to himself but he in sunderland was a well-loved figure and on november the 13th he died very suddenly so there's great sadness there but we give thanks for all that he did and for the example he gave and also i know that the city of sunderland will be keeping a a time of reflection in his memory and thanksgiving for the past that he himself traced during this pandemic well other things happened on this day angela merkel became the first woman chancellor of germany on november the 22nd in 2005 and also juan carlos became king of spain in 1975 following the death of franco in 1890 charles gold was born it's full of leaders today so let's remember that as we keep the theme of leadership in the feast of christ the king let's begin our prayers o lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise your throne has been established from of old you are from everlasting alleluia blessed are you lord of heaven and earth to you be glory and praise forever from the darkness of death you have raised your christ to the right hand of your majesty on high the pioneer of our faith his passion accomplished has opened for us the way to heaven and sends on us the promised spirit may we be ready to follow the way and so be brought to the glory of his presence where songs of triumph forever sound 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 oh god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen our psalm on this 22nd morning of the months is psalm 107 it's a long sound and so i'm just going to read the end of that psalm a psalm of pilgrimage of people taking journeys in the sea people being closed into prisons and the sense of the release and freedom and guardianship of the lord i'm starting at verse 33 the lord turns rivers into wilderness and water springs into thirsty ground a fruitful land he makes a salty waste because of the wickedness of those who dwell there he makes the wilderness a pool of water and water springs out of a thirsty land and there he settles the hungry and they build a city to dwell in they serve fields and plant vineyards and bring in a fruitful harvest he blesses them so that they multiply greatly he does not let their herds of cattle decrease he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes they are diminished and brought low through stress of misfortune and sorrow but he raises the poor from their misery and multiplies their families like flocks of sheep the upright will see this and rejoice but all wickedness will shut its mouth whoever is wise will ponder these things and consider the lovingkindness of the lord let them give thanks to the lord for his goodness and the wonders he does for his children let them exalt him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the counsel of the a elders lesson today as we always do on sunday morning but this lesson is a lesson for the feast of christ the king it's written in the 19th chapter of the gospel of saint luke beginning at the 28th verse [Music] and when jesus had said these things he went on ahead going up to jerusalem when he drew near to bethe and bethany at the mount that is called olivet he sent two of the disciples saying go into the village in front of you where on entering you will find a cult tied on which no one has ever yet sat untie it and bring it here if anyone asks you why are you untying it you shall say this the lord has need of it so those who were sent went away and found it just as jesus had told them and as they were untying the cult its owners said to them why are you untying the cult and they said the lord has need of it and they brought it to jesus and throwing their cloaks on the coat they set jesus on it and as he rode along they spread their cloaks on the road as he was drawing there already on the way down the mount of olives the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise god with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen saying blessed is the king who comes in the name of the lord peace in heaven and glory in the highest it's a wonderful lesson of the triumphal entry into jerusalem on the donkey and here is the expected anointed king coming one of the most moving moments for me of the year though it didn't happen this year is on palm sunday when we have our great procession from the huge chapter house around the cloisters and out and into the west door of the cathedral and as one stunned at the nave water looking down the wide aisle with the cathedral packed with people with palms in their hands the hymn changes from all glory lord of honor with its hosannas to the ride on ride on in majesty and up the aisle comes the little donkey with a range of children around the donkey sometimes we have two donkeys and uh that's because uh the the the the donkeys um william and mary they're called uh uh are better together and uh they enjoy coming up together but i i'm always tremendously moved by the sense of that humble creature and both together sometimes coming up the aisle and we sing ride on ride on in majesty king was a word which sat uneasily with jesus you remember when he was before pilate and pilate said so you are a king then and i like the new english bible translation of the sentence that comes next king is your word i came to bear witness to the truth we have said so many times as we went through the gospel of saint luke through the acts of the apostles and through the revelation to john that the kingdom of heaven and any earthly ideas of supreme leadership are in inadequately described by words so that jesus in his parables even in the great parable of the sheep and the goats and the king sitting there which comes at the end of the passages of saint matthew before the passion even there jesus's words are the kingdom of heaven is is like that so that the word king sat uneasily what he said most of all about leadership was the kings of other nations and their leaders like to make the weight of their authority felt it must not be so among you i am among you as one who serves i came to give my life a ransom for many as one who serves and perhaps the foot washing on the evening of his betrayal is the greatest sign of that kingship but the riding into jerusalem meek and riding upon an ass and the coat the fold of an ass as the prophecy says the riding into jerusalem shows all of that that the true kingship the true leadership the very word minister which so many officers of state use shows a sense of service which we ourselves have had to learn for one another during all these days of pandemic we remember so many people in lockdown at this time and we wait here in england for the prime minister to give an idea of how things will go forward through the christmas feast and beyond and at this time of course everything is set out as a possible scenario or tears for different areas of of the nation we think of california going into a a more severe uh stage of of lockdown today but so many nations right across the world but this of course is not only the feast of the of christ the king and that image of service which christ gives to us it's also the feast of sin cecilia and so many musicians have written anthems and hymns in joy to sin cecilia we've even cut a few roses here which were still flowering on various uh roses mostly in the front garden of the scenery but i'm sitting here because this is the area where my partner here on the camera has has so many times arranged wonderful musical entertainment with our own musicians very often and others who've come to help them at the end generally of a musical year but sometimes in winter in the drawing room itself where an uh version of traviata was sung recently with packed drawing room but here generally this lawn is covered with people coming for a few nights to enjoy music here operas here and have fun and hospitality and share the joy of music all of that of course is not possible at present we give thanks for the music that we can give live streamed by our choir still but at the same time we long for the time when we can come together and laugh and cry sometimes at the stories of the operas which are being given to us and at the same time the anthems which are being sung but above all else the hymns which we long to sing again well this is a day when so many musicians have anniversaries i wrote some of them down um it's the day when siratha sullivan died who of course gave us hymn tunes and and holy music but tears us up most by his operettas which he wrote with ws gilbert and we still enjoy them hugely in new york with the new york gilbert and sullivan players and and uh we'll perhaps put a link on to them uh at the bottom for anyone and who wants still to see the kind of performance that uh sullivan and gilbert gave poking at the pomposity of leadership very often and causing people to step down and be more humble by the jokes they made about them this is the day that in 1913 benjamin britain was born and he of course wrote a wonderful hymn to sin cecilia ordon's words begin with a prayer blessed cecilia appear in visions to all musicians appear and inspire translated daughter come down and startle composing mortals with immortal fire it's a wonderful word a wonderful verse and the the whole set of verses as they're sung are wonderful verses and i just as a by by uh statement say in 1869 andrei jide was was born and he wrote this is one of his quotes art is the collaboration between god and the artist and the less the artist does the better which is a great statement but also he said a straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective so of course sometimes we have to make that straight path but at other times the wandering along the way causes an exploration and a learning as we journey and that we give thanks for too well also um on these days there are more musical memories and we have the birth of rodrigo the spanish composer at segundo best known for his concierto aransweth and that that royal town in spain if you've been there makes versailles look quite small and again here is a symbol of earthly leadership but the leadership which jesus points to is as we keep reminding ourselves a leadership of service on this day and another set of musicians the beatles released their white album very famous release and in 1928 in paris revels bolero was first performed so all those things connected with cecilia we shall sing in our music today or the choir will a hymn for sin cecilia this one written by howls with verses by ursula von williams and they begin with the lovely words sing for the morning's joy singh november the 22nd becomes a lovely anniversary it's also the day when henry purcell and i'm leaning the accent on the first syllable of purcell because that's how we were taught to say it and i still believe it rather than purcell because his friends john dryden and the composer john blow in an ode which dryden wrote and blow set to music caused the accent to come just there it must have been how he pronounced his own name here's the couplet so ceased the rival crew when purcell came they sung no more or only sung his fame well we saw how jeremy hopkins did that yesterday but above all else we think of so many of his wonderful anthems and the cantatas almost that he produced on this since cecilia's day usually dedicating them to queen mary of william and mary this is the day when um mary's chosen archbishop of canterbury john tilletson died and he actually was dean here for quite a long time from 1672 right up to the early 1690s and then took over for a very short time as archbishop of canterbury because he was seen to be loyal after the um putting aside of archbishop sancroft as a non-juror but we remember all these all these things this morning and give thanks for the joyful gift of music but the way in which art of all forms can express things which words cannot so as we say our prayers let's be filled with thanksgiving but also of course filled with our own concerns wherever we are in the world today the prayer is a special one for christ the king eternal father whose son jesus christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as lord and king keep the church in the unity of the spirit and in the bond of peace and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god now and forever amen so each in our own language we say the words that 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 deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever are men so in silence this morning we make our own prayers of intercession for those for whom we would pray but also of thanksgiving always of thanksgiving as dawn's light broke this morning the thrushes were singing and that's a new beginning for they always begin just around the end of november beginning of december and see us through the winter thank god the birds can still sing and we pray for the day that we all can sing and gather together 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 amen you