good morning and welcome to canterbury cathedral on this first day of july 1st of july tends to be an ordination anniversary for so many because it's near the feast of saint peter and so to all those celebrating an ordination to the priesthood or the diaconate this morning congratulations and every blessing in your ministry for me it's a special day because uh on the 1st of july 1973 i was ordained priest in the cathedral church of saint marian's chad at litchfield and on the 1st of july 2001 i was installed as dean of canterbury and so it's a double anniversary for me but i've come here this morning for reasons which will become very obvious when we begin to read our lesson to the pigsty to join winston and clemmy at their breakfast as our visual aid for this bit of the gospel of saint luke winston can we come and have your breakfast come on come on there we are leo is being exceptionally brave not that the pigs will do him any harm at all but uh he's sitting here because he's so keen on being part of anything we do oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise visit us with your salvation and sustain us with your gracious spirit blessed are you creator of all to you be praise and glory forever as your dawn renews the faith 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 a new month begins the salter all over again so we are psalm one blessed are they who have not walked in the council of the wicked nor lingered in the way of sinners nor sat in the assembly of the scornful their delight is in the law of the lord and they meditate on his law day and night like a tree planted by streams of water bearing fruit in due season with leaves that do not wither whatever they do it shall prosper as for the wicked it is not so with them they are like chaff which the wind blows away therefore the wicked shall not be able to stand at the judgment nor the sinner in the congregation of the righteous for the lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked shall perish so we continue with the stories given by jesus to the crowds and to the criticizing pharisees and scribes who stand around in the crowd asking why on earth he has any truck with anyone but righteous people yesterday we read the parable of the lost coin and the lost sheep today the third paragraph parable which is only found in the gospel of saint luke and where chapter 15 verse 11. and jesus said there was a man who had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father give me the share of property that is coming to me and he divided his property between them not many days later the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country and there he squandered his property in reckless living and when he had spent everything a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need so he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed pigs and he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs were eating and no one gave him anything but when he came to himself he said how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread but i perish here with hunger i will arise and go to my father and will say to him father i have sinned against heaven and before you i am no longer worthy to be called your son treat me as one of your hired servants and he arose and came to his father but while he was still a long way off his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him and the son said to him father i have sinned against heaven and before you and i'm no longer worthy to be called your son but the father said to his servants bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate for this my son was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found and they began to celebrate now his older son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house he heard music and dancing and he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant and the servant said to him your brother has come and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has received him back safe and sound but he was angry and refused to go in his father came out and entreated him but he answered his father look these many years i have served you i have never disobeyed your command yet you never gave me a young goat that i might celebrate with my friends but when this son of yours came who has devoured your property with prostitutes you killed the fatted calf for him and the father said my son you are always with me and all that is mine is yours it was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this your brother was dead and is alive he was lost and is found as with any parable we could spend a lifetime musing on its meaning and find new facets in it every day and every time we read it but this is a rich parable and falls into two sections the first is the nature of the son who was dissatisfied at home and went away taking his share of the property spent it all in a foreign country and when the famine arose was in deep need and none of the friends he'd made through his money had given him anything so we find him then at the lowliest job now remember he goes to the pigsty pigs would not have been kept in judea itself they were unclean animals so he was there in a state of poverty distress and a sense of being unworthy and unclean in a foreign land and suddenly there in the pigsty he realizes the or begins to realize the love of his father for in his unworthiness how could he possibly imagine that the the breadth of the love of his father in his unworthiness he thinks let me go home but i'll go home in penitence and say i'm really not worthy to be one of your children just treat me as one of your servants he's got the little speech planned in his head for when he arrives and has no idea what his reception will be but the father has been watching and waiting for this moment just as the clear eyes of jesus in his ministry despite the crowds and all that awaits him in jerusalem has eyes constantly watching for the one who was lost and needs to be found the one who will begin to realize the acceptance of the love of god in all the good news that jesus is proclaiming in his ministry the son is within sight of home and the father races down the road embraces him the little speech begins but is not allowed to continue instead he is received as a welcome child who has learned an enormous lesson and is now enfolded back into the family and the love of the the noise of celebration is heard outside and the second part of the story begins it contains the story of the elder brother who represents those who see themselves as righteous and have other lessons to learn and it's a sad story because we're filled with the sense of the elder brother's unfairness and the father's desire to show him exactly what he needs to learn it's impossible for him to compare him to his brother but it does put us straight back with what is happening in the ministry of jesus as he goes on there are those whom the righteous was considered unworthy who are receiving the news with gladness and jesus welcomes with open arms heals restores forgives and makes them worthy to go home and be those whom god created them to be and around are those who constantly criticize because they see themselves to be worthier than those and then think that jesus's ministry is tainted in some way by even mixing with the others well we could we could think about that all day long but it gives us many lessons to ponder on in our own realization of the love of god and its total breadth and perhaps on this morning when i sit here in the pigsty it does us good to remember where so many have realized that love in the absolute depths of some situation which they feel has totally overwhelmed them and from which they will never recover and the love of god in jesus is good news means come you are welcome and there will be celebration amongst the angels of god when you are restored and accept the father's love let's say our prayers on this day and we remember on this 1st of july the diocese of northeastern caribbean and aruba in the west indies and errol brooks the bishop there and his people and the diocese of atuch in south sudan and moses ana anyam the bishop there and his people and in this diocese as we remember justin our archbishop and rose bishop of dover tim bishop at lambeth we think today and pray for the parish of cranbrook saint dunstan's church there and anne pollington in her ministry and the life of that parish you will have those who whom you want to pray for in your own communities and have them in your minds and hearts as we say first of all the special prayer for this week and then the sound prayer for today god you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the spirit of your son into our hearts whereby we call you father give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of god through jesus christ our lord amen and the son collect christ our wisdom give us delight in your law that we may bear fruits of patience and peace in the kingdom of the righteous for your mercy's sake amen so we say each in our own language and in whichever way you like to say it the prayer that our lord taught us to say when we come together 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 amen moment of silence for your own prayers 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 among you and remain with you today and always amen