welcome to the deanery garden this afternoon for even song on this fourth sunday of easter tide as we say our prayers for all those around the world who are struggling with this human situation in which we find ourselves the cathedral of course is locked and our services are taking place in our own homes either inside or as this afternoon outside in the garden oh lord open thou our lips and our mouth shall show forth thy praise o 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 proper sound set for this afternoon this fourth sunday of easter time is psalm 29 bring unto the lord o ye mighty bring young rams unto the lord ascribe unto the lord worship and strength give the lord the honor due unto his name worship the lord with holy worship it is the lord that commandeth the waters it is the glorious gods that make us the thunder it is the lord that rules the sea the voice of the lord is mighty in operation the voice of the lord is a glorious voice the voice of the lord breaketh the cedar trees yea the lord breaketh the cedars of libernus he maketh them also to skip like a calf lebanese also and syrian like a young unicorn the voice of the lord divided the flames of fire the voice of the lord shaketh the wilderness yea the lord shaketh the wilderness of cadiz the voice of the lord maketh the hinds to bring forth young and discovereth the thick bushes in his temple doth every man speak of his honor the lord sitteth above the water flood and the lord remaineth a king forever the lord shall give strength unto his people the lord shall give his people the blessing of peace 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 lesson set for this afternoon is taken from the third chapter of the book ezra and we're starting at verse 10 the jewish people are beginning to return from exile in babylon and finding their temple in ruins they set about under the leadership of nehemiah the governor and ezra the priest to rebuild their temple and when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the lord the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets and the levites the sons of assaf with symbols to praise the lord according to the directions of david king of israel and they sang responsively praising and giving thanks to the lord for he is good for his steadfast love endures forever towards israel and all the people shouted with a great shout when they praise the lord because the foundation of the house of the lord was laid but many of the priests and levites and heads of fathers houses old men who had seen the first temple wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid there many shouted aloud for joy so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people weeping for the people shouted with a great shout and the sound was heard far away here ends the first lesson say the canticle magnificat 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 hath magnified me and holy is his name and his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations he has shown strength with his arm he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts he has 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 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 our new testament lesson is written in the letter of paul to the ephesians the second chapter beginning at the 11th verse therefore remember that at one time you gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision which is made in the flesh by hands remember that you were at that time separated from christ alienated from the commonwealth of israel and strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without god in the world but now in christ jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of christ for christ himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances so that he might create in himself one new human being in place of the two so making peace and might reconcile us both to god in one body through the cross thereby killing the hostility and christ came and pray preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near for through him we both have access in one spirit to the father so then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of god built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets christ jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the lord and in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for god by the spirit here ends the second lesson it's interesting how paul in wrestling with the pain inside him about the division between his own people and all others who are called gentiles changes his image from images of growing things which surround us in the garden to images of building and building materials and foundation stones we saw how ezra the scribe came and began to oversee with nehemiah the rebuilding of the temple um there were those who wept for the past and those who wept because they were so moved by the fact that the destroyed foundations of the old temple were now being rebuilt and those who shouted a liar for joy for human exaltation and human grief and the kind of things that we do when we're most moved we cry when we're happy and we cry when we're sad are one of the same and so this sense of using images of building is one that paul easily reaches for when he wants to say that christ is our foundation stone when you live in a place like this which has been a human community since roman times and has been a christian community since augustine came here in 597 is full of pieces of building material left over from the past and the community here has been easy in the way it has changed buildings and use new materials to do different things in different generations i'm standing at the back of the deanery here and the wall behind me is mostly an 11th century wall built on roman foundations but you can see in the pattern of the wall itself that windows have been changed doors have been filled in flint has been used from local sources brick made here from local sources and bits of stone taken from the stone used for the cathedral and brought over from normandy all of those things have happened as change sometimes forced change as in the english civil war or even in the second world war when this place was so badly damaged in its precincts and its libraries and its cannons houses by the huge beidecker bombardment and a bomb fell right outside the front of the deanery and one can see how the front was then patched up and reimagined it other times it's been changed because the purpose of the community became different this could turn into a whole architectural lecture but what i'm trying to say is that sin paul uses the image of building to show how god can use change to do wonderful things and at the same time paul says i'm not just talking about a little bit of domestic reordering i'm talking about a stone which the builders rejected the human ministry of christ becoming the cornerstone of the whole building either places that we build in which we can worship or the temple of our bodies themselves used as an agent for spreading the good news on which we build christ the cornerstone who came to proclaim as the ephesians says peace to those who are far off peace to those who are near this is a time of great change we're going through a situation none of us have ever experienced before and we can't really at this stage tell what the future will be like people have started talking about the new normal well whatever that may be or not to be frightening for us for change has been the stuff of the long history of the disciples of christ using what give god gives us in creation images of growth images of building to proclaim good news to those who are far off and to those who are near then we say the canticle nunctimitis lord now let us 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 i believe in god the father almighty maker of heaven and earth and in jesus christ his only son now lord who was conceived by the holy ghost born of the virgin mary suffered under pontius pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended into hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of god the father almighty from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead i believe in the holy ghost the holy catholic church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting 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 oh 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 endure 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 almighty god who showeth to them that be an error the light of thy truth to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of christ's religion that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their profession and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same through our lord jesus christ 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 amen so we pray in silence for a moment for all those whom we know and love those who are on our hearts because we have read or seen their story or know their story in suffering distress bereavement or grief remember all those who have died and we pray for grace and strength that we may be fearless in times of change and conscious of god's prompting to use any situation for his glory and for the welfare and encouragement of others almighty god who has given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications 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 god of peace who brought again from the dead our lord jesus that great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you and upon all whom you love and would pray for tonight and always amen