good evening and welcome to canterbury cathedral on this evening of the second sunday after trinity it's also world music day and so we give thanks in our prayers and in our reflections for all musicians at this time many of them are unable to perform in public and throughout the world at this time of pandemic so we give a special prayers for them but also thank god for the gift of music in our lives so we begin our evening prayer oh lord open thou our lips and our mouth shall show forth thy praise oh god make speed to save us o lord make haste to help us glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen praise ye the lord the lord's name be praised the psalm for this 21st evening of the month is psalm 106 and we say the first 10 verses of that psalm o give thanks unto the lord for he is gracious and his mercy endureth forever who can express the noble acts of the lord or show forth all his praise blessed are they that always keep judgment and do righteousness remember me o lord according to the favor that thou barest unto thy people o visit me with thy salvation that i may see the felicity of thy chosen and rejoice in the gladness of thy people and give thanks with thine inheritance we have sinned with our fathers we have done a miss and dealt wickedly our fathers regarded not thy wonders in egypt neither kept they thy great goodness in remembrance but were disobedient at the sea even at the red sea nevertheless he helped them for his name's sake that he might make his power to be known he rebuked the red sea also and it was dried up so he led them through the deep as through a wilderness and he saved them from the adversary's hand and delivered them from the hand of the enemy glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen our first lesson is written in the first book of samuel the 24th chapter beginning at the first verse when saul returned from following the philistines he was told behold david is in the wilderness of engadi then saul took three thousand chosen men out of all israel and went to seek david and his men in front of the wild goats rocks and he came to the sheepfolds by the way where there was a cave and saul went in to relieve himself now david and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave and the men of david said to him here is the day of which the lord said to you behold i will give your enemy into your hand and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you then david arose and stealthily cut off a corner of saul's robe and afterwards david's heart struck him because he had cut off a corner of saul's robe he said to his men the lord forbid that i should do this thing to my lord the lord's anointed to put out my hand against him seeing he is the lord's anointed so david persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack saul and saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way afterwards david also arose and went out of the cave and called after saul my lord the king and when saul looked behind him david bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage and david said to saul why do you listen to the words of men who say behold david seeks your harm behold this day your eyes have seen how the lord gave you today into my hand in the cave and some told me to kill you but i spared you i said i will not put out my hand against my lord for he is the lord's anointed see my father see the corner of your robe in my hand for by the fact that i cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands and as soon as david had finished speaking these words to saul saul said is this your voice my son david and saul lifted up his voice and wept he said to david you are more righteous than i for you have repaid me good whereas i have repaid you evil and you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me in that you did not kill me when the lord put me into your hands for if a man finds his enemy will he let him go away safe so may the lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day and now behold i know that you shall surely be king and that the kingdom of israel shall be established in your hand swear to me therefore by the lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house and david swore this to saul then saul went home and david and his men went up to their stronghold here ends the first reading you say the magnificat the song of mary my soul doth magnify the lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in god my savior for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden for behold from henceforth all generation shall call me blessed for he that is mighty has magnified me and holy is his name and his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations he hath showed strength with his arm he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts he had put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble and meek he has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent empty away he remembering his mercy has opened his servant israel as he promised to our forefathers abraham and his seed forever glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen the second lesson is written in the gospel of saint luke the 14th chapter beginning at the 12th verse jesus said also to the man who has invited him to dinner when you give a dinner or a banquet do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors lest they also invite you in return and be repaid but when you give a feast invite the poor the crippled the lame the blind and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just when one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things he said to him blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of god but jesus said to him a man gave a great banquet and invited many and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited come for everything is now ready but they all alike began to make excuses the first said i have bought a field and i must go out and see it please excuse me the next i have bought five yoke of oxen and i am going to examine them please excuse me and another said i have married a wife and therefore i cannot come so the servant came and reported these things to his master then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant go out then quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame the seventh returning said sir what you commanded has been done and still there is room and the master said to the servant go out then to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled for i tell you none of those who were invited shall taste my banquet lord now let is thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared before the face of all people to be a light to lighten the gentiles and to be the glory of thy people israel glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen let us pray lord have mercy upon us christ have mercy upon us lord have mercy upon 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 amen o lord share thy mercy upon us and grant us thy salvation o lord save the queen and mercifully hear us when we call upon thee and do thy ministers with righteousness and make thy chosen people joyful o lord save thy people and bless sign inheritance give peace in our time o lord because there is none other that fighteth for us but only thou o god o god make clean our hearts within us and take not thy holy spirit from us o lord who never fails to help and govern them whom thou dost bring up in thy steadfast fear and love keep us we beseech thee under the protection of thy good providence and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy name through jesus christ our lord amen o god from whom all holy desires all good counsels and all just works to proceed give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness through the merits of jesus christ our savior amen lighten our darkness we beseech thee o lord and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night for the love of thy only son our savior jesus christ our men two lessons this afternoon which tells stories a rather moving story of david and king saul one remembers that saul was subject to fits of terrible depression and anger and suspicion and in one of those early fits of his depression the servants wonder what they can do to help the king and they're told that there is a young lad who is a great musician and he should be brought to play his harp to king saul and they inquired who it was and they said david the son of jesse in bethlehem so david was fetched and brought into the palace and whenever he played the king's depression would lift it's quite clear though that david was a person of great gifts and also his very very warm friendship with jonathan the son of the king and heir to the throne caused jealousy with king saul david's prowess in the field as a soldier also calls jealousy with the king and the depressions increase so by the time we get to this particular point in the story david has had to flee because he fears the king will kill him and some of the men who are loyal to david go with him the rest of the story tells itself david spares saul's life even when the king is delivered into his hands in a cave unarmed and the king turn turning in a moment and perhaps remembering those earlier days gives david words of comfort and a prophecy you will one day be king and when you are be kind to my family the story tells of a step forward in the story of god's people so that the house of david will take the throne and from that royal line our own lord was born but the second lesson is also about steps forward and their steps forward that luke loves luke having joined the disciples who are taking good news across the mediterranean region and having never been part of the original story loves the fact that the gentiles of all nations are now being included in the infant church and here's a parable which jesus taught told which was telling of those who had the right to sit at the rich man's table saying well no i haven't time i've got to go and look at some oxen that i bought i've got to look at a field and so on and so forth and instead the one giving the feast extends the boundaries here's a story for the growth of the early church extends the boundaries first to the streets and lanes of the city back comes the servant i've called everybody in and there's still room so farther still out into the countryside the highways and hedgerows here is a metaphor for the whole world being offered the rich feast of the good news of the message of the kingdom of heaven which christ through his life his death and resurrection and his gift of the holy spirit has come to proclaim two stories that widen boundaries and take steps forward at evening prayer this afternoon on this day when thinking of david's harp we give thanks for musicians and perhaps i ought to say as i did for our cathedral girls click on the girls website then let me say it this week for the boys for you can click on a website and see james and and freddie singing uh a song for us to give us some music and in singing that perhaps it'll remind us that musicians at present are mostly silent and we long for the day when they can sing with us and for us again so let us pray in silence for all those whom we would pray for today those we know and love those in special danger at this time and those who are combating this pandemic throughout the world [Music] almighty god who has given us grace at this time with one accord to make our commons applications unto thee and has promised that when two or three are gathered together in thy name thou wilt grant their requests fulfill now o lord the desires and petitions of thy servants as may be most expedient for them granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth and in the world to come life everlasting amen 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 you would pray for this night and always amen [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Laughter] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] please [Music] you