welcome to canterbury cathedral on this friday morning of easter week itself we are about to say some morning prayers together to prepare us for whatever is in store for us throughout this day and to remember all those who are on our hearts and in our minds at this serious time of crisis right across the world oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise in your resurrection o christ let heaven and earth rejoice alleluia blessed are you lord god of our salvation to you be praise and glory forever as once you ransomed your people from egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen son may we the first fruits of your new creation rejoice in this new day you have made and praise you for your mighty acts blessed be god father son and holy spirit blessed be god forever some verses from the easter anthems from the new testament christ our passover has been sacrificed for us say let us celebrate the feast not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth christ once raised from the dead dies no more in dying he died to sin once for all in living he lives to god see yourselves therefore as dead to sin and alive to god in jesus christ our lord christ has been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who sleep alleluia one of our morning psalms on this 17th day of the month is psalm 87. it speaks about the city of jerusalem which we'll feature in our reading in a moment and as we read of that the distinction between that vision of the heavenly city and the earthly city in all that it's meant throughout history becomes in some way complementary and perhaps we remember the hymn which john newton wrote glorious things of the are spoken zion city of our god psalm 87 her foundations are on the holy mountain the lord loves the gates of zion more than all the dwellings of jacob glorious things are spoken of you zion city of our god i record egypt and babylon as those who know me behold philistia tyre in ethiopia in zion where they born and of zion it shall be said each one was born in her and the most high himself has established her the lord will record as he writes up the peoples this one also was born there and as they dance they shall sing all my fresh springs are in you we've been reading over the last two mornings the story of the journey made by the two disciples from jerusalem to emmaus and yesterday this is from the 24th chapter of the gospel of saint luke we ended with jesus breaking bread at the table i'm just going to go back a verse or two to remind you of that before continuing so i'm starting this morning at verse 28 so they drew near to the village to which they were going the stranger acted as if he were going farther but they urged him strongly saying stay with us for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent so he went in to stay with them when he was at table with them he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight they said to each other did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road while he opened to us the scriptures and they rose that same hour and returned to jerusalem and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together saying the lord has risen indeed and has appeared to simon then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread the pathway out of jerusalem when they were sad and the stranger joined them and began to talk to them and explain things and the pathway back to jerusalem and the past leads in a very different kind of direction for now they are quite different people we as human beings as is made abundantly clear in the scriptures and in so many writings are inextricably a combination of body mind and spirit and when something takes us by surprise sometimes those parts of us work on a different time scale with each other they now realize when they recognize him in the breaking of the bread around the table that their hearts had already been burning within them that spiritual dimension as they walked along the road that part of them was already beginning to realize who it was who was speaking to them but then he had engaged their minds by speaking of what was prophesied in the scriptures about what the christ must suffer and also about the glory that would be but still there's not a total realization until sitting at the table they recognize him in the breaking of the bread and then their bodies react as so often happens in surprise with a shock or wonderful surprise when someone has prepared a surprise for us and the enjoyment is so great because it's especially for us and all their sadness and all their lack of energy disappears and immediately they set off again in the other direction back to jerusalem back to the holy city why because they want to share their surprise to share their news and when they get there there is plentiful sharing for the others that they find there have news too and so that message becomes the first good news which those disciples experience and good news is always better shared we can still do that even locked down as we are because there are many ways of keeping in contact with each other one day we shall meet again physically but for the moment we do our best day by day to share any news of encouragement and from that our bodies our minds and our spirits are given hope which is a blessed quality at this particular time so we come to say our prayers and as always in this mother church of the anglican communion we remember certain dioceses day by day in course and today through the communion we pray for the diocese of mombasa in kenya and for alfons bayer the bishop there and all his people the diocese of western newfoundland in canada and john organ the bishop there and the diocese of western north carolina in the united states and jose mcrocklin the bishop there and his people here in canterbury we pray for justin our archbishop for rose bishop of dover for tim bishop at lambeth and as we pray parish by parish on this morning of the 17th of april we pray for the parish of all saints westbrook in margate and for dennis hartley and dawn watson in their ministry there and all the people whom they serve so we make a prayer at this time for the situation within our world and for ourselves healing god whose son jesus brought wholeness to lives through the power of his love pour outs we pray your power to heal encourage cheer and give hope upon us all and particularly today for those who work in medicine that through your mercy we may see in our own day the injured return to health the distress led to happiness and the broken restored to wholeness and the whole of humanity given new hope in jesus christ our lord amen and easter prayer risen christ you filled your disciples with boldness and fresh hope strengthen us to proclaim your risen life and fill us with your peace to the glory of god the father amen so we pray on this morning each in our own way the words our savior taught us keeping in our hearts and minds those for whom we would pray 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 it's a moment of silence for our own prayers for those whom we love and those who are on our minds and hearts today the god of peace who brought again from the dead our lord jesus that great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal 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 those whom you love today and always are men