good morning and welcome to canterbury cathedral on this lovely saturday morning there's a much cooler air despite the strong sunshine and welcome to wherever you are in the world on this first day of august traditionally in the old prayer book it was lama's day and still is lama's day the feast of the first fruits of the harvest when the first loaves were baked from the wheat harvest and we'll think a little bit about what that means in our reflection later on it's a day also when a friend of ours paul fajilli who for many years was the first secretary to the anglican church in canada and had announced his retirement and we said farewell to him because he was a constant visitor we've known him across the communion but also as a wonderful guest here in his relationships across the totality of the communion and now he has been appointed in the episcopal church of the united states to be one of their uh officers connecting the uh provinces of africa and uh with the episcopal church and we are absolutely delighted because his voice in the anglican communion has always been strong he begins that ministry today with his wife jenny we pray for paul and jenny but let's begin our morning prayers oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise may christ the day star dawn in our hearts and triumph over the shades of night blessed are you creator of all to you be praise and glory forever as your dawn renews the face 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 the day lies open before us let us pray with one heart and mind as we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence o lord o god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen uh psalm on this first day of the month is quite naturally psalm 1 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 in 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 turn to our regular reading of since luke's gospel and we have arrived at the beginning of chapter 23 then the whole company of them arose and brought jesus before pilate and they began to accuse him saying we found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to caesar and saying that he himself is christ a king and pilate asked him are you the king of the jews and jesus answered him you have said so then pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds i found no guilt in this man but they were urgent saying he stirs up the people teaching throughout all judea from galilee even to this place when pilate heard this he asked whether the man was a galilean and when he learned that he belonged to herod's jurisdiction he sent him over to herod who was himself in jerusalem at that time when herod saw jesus he was very glad for he had long desired to see him because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some sign done by him so herod questioned him at some length but jesus made no answer the chief priests and the scribes stood by vehemently accusing jesus and headed with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him and then arraying him in splendid clothing he sent him back to pilate and herod and pilate became friends with each other that very day for before this they had been at enmity with each other two new cameos and pictures on this day two cameos and pictures of judgment the council has met as we saw in our reading yesterday and they decide that in order to deal with jesus quickly they want him dead they will take him to the roman provincial governor who is the only one who has the authority to order a crucifixion so they bring him to pilate for pilot this is all in a day's work save for the fact that the passover is now right upon them that city is heaving with different groups who have come now and pilate knows well that if he lights a blue touch paper the city will explode so there's a nervousness about pilate from the very beginning nevertheless they've come to the provincial governor of the imperial authority it's an imperial authority that luke has lived his whole life under and stretches right across the mediterranean region and here in this province pilot is the person and he's probably come to jerusalem itself which normally wouldn't be his headquarters because it's a tense time and they bring this man and stand him before pilate asking for judgment and pilate wants to know whether jesus is making political claims he finds none are you the king of the jews and jesus says the same thing to pilate as he said to the council those words implication those words were never mind those words are yours and pilate delivers an initial judgment saying he finds no case and the elders chief priests and scribes began to begin to shout and and make an uproar again and say he he preaches sedition right across from galilee implication from where he comes from pilate sees a way of escape from this difficult judgment for if jesus is indeed galilean then he falls under the authority of king herod antipas who happens to be in jerusalem at that time the great palace of herod the great is occupied by the roman governor but there's another older palace the hasmanian palace where herod would have been so pilate sends the prisoner as one under herod's jurisdiction and jesus then appears in a second scene for judgment before the local monarch of his own area galilee herod has been the one who was fascinated by john the baptist he's fascinated by jesus he wants to see signs and wonders done there in front of him and when it doesn't happen then they begin to mock and make fun of jesus and dress him up as a king and send him back to pilate both the provincial governor and the local monarch have found no case to answer and jesus is back before pilate now wearing the robe this scene is only incident gospel now wearing the robe which he has been arrayed in by headed and that means pilot has to think again well that's beyond our two cameos this morning all that luke wants us to know this morning is that neither the imperial authority or the local authority have found jesus guilty for the political claims that they say he's making are not part of his ministry vocation or in political terms agenda interesting to see that because pilate has actually recognized herod's authority over galilee and herod is flattered by that then they become friends and from that moment onwards those two clearly work together but not in this matter when we go on it's pilot alone on monday morning now because sunday will give us different lessons when we go on it's pilot just by himself who has to make the call this is the first of august and in the calendar of the countryside throughout the centuries this has been lama's day august the 1st in the calendar of 1662 it's it's it's the and in the agricultural festivals of plow sunday regation sunday harvests and llamas is the third of those it's the first fruits of the harvest and traditionally in the countryside in country villages one would take a loaf baked into church in a basket surrounded by flowers i remember doing it in my wheelchair village and it was a sign of the harvest beginning the hay harvest was over the wheat harvest was beginning and the crop was tested by baking bread from the first fruits it's a lovely picture even in the old testament of a family in the shape of usually the father of the family coming with a loaf to the priest on the festival of first fruits and the moment the first fruits of the harvest were gathered some were taken along and before thanks was given a story of thanksgiving for the past for that community was said and then the offering was made for the present and there's a sense of asking god's blessing on the future that's a good thing to do on this summer day we've many of us had time in lockdown to have different kinds of thoughts and assessments and certainly we in these reflections all through the months have had time to think and perhaps it's a time on this llamas day loaf mass as it comes from it's a time to think so what does that mean and it's just a beginning this isn't harvest thanksgiving that comes much later in the year at completion this is a beginning to look around and see the fruits of our creativity in thought physical creativity and also in spiritual creativity and think what what kind of offering we can make of that for the future we've seen a beginning of a trial before pilot before headed about people making right judgment yesterday was the same with the sanhedrin the council today here we are with the first fruits festival so looking around it won't be wheat you've been gathering or growing it may be other things that you've been growing certainly you may have been baking and doing all kinds of things but it's a day for assessment a day for just thinking what are the creative fruits of my life as a beginning as we go on through this normally holiday months in england but this year are very different kind of months so thank god for this lamas day the festival of first fruits and our ability to offer ourselves in christ to the creator who gives us so many gifts and so many qualities in our own human lives let's say our prayers this morning and as we do so we continue to pray for our anglican communion today the diocese of ofer in nigeria solomon akambi the bishop there and his people diocese of bolivia in south america and raphael samuel and his people and the diocese of karim nagar in south india and the bishop reuben mark and his people we continue also in our prayers in this diocese as we pray for archbishop justin bishop rose of dover bishop tim at lambus to pray for the elam area deanery that's the villages in the elam valley and as i read them all yesterday around uh folkestone and highs uh and saltwood down on the coast we shall pray for those one by one those communities but today we give thanks for all who in that whole area work as chaplains in organizations at this time and especially we pray for malcolm sawyer trisha hill and david slater so first we say a prayer for this week bringing our own intentions and remembering as i said at the beginning paul and jenny faheli beginning a new ministry for the anglican communion today lord of all power and might the author and giver of all good things graft in our hearts the love of your name increase in us true religion nourish us with all goodness and of your great mercy keep us in the same through jesus christ our lord amen and as we remember this as the feast of the first fruits of the harvests of the world namaste we give thanks for those harvests in work and in life and in our own lives and thanks for our ability to be partners with our creator within the life of creation eternal god you crown the year with your goodness and you give us the fruits of the earth in their season grant that we may use them to your glory for the relief of those in need and for our own well-being through jesus christ our lord amen so we pray each in our own language the prayer our savior 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 our own prayers on this first day of the month 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 today and always amen [Applause] foreign