welcome to canterbury cathedral on this wednesday morning of passion week when we come to say our morning prayers wherever you are in the world welcome to this place where we ourselves are not able to broadcast the services from the church but we're here in our homes and gardens this is a morning when all of us have been hearing stories of intense courage from members of the national health and also of great sadness as people and families remember those who have died and those who have contracted the coronavirus and we hold all of those in our hearts and minds as we say our prayers this morning o lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise let your ways be known upon earth your saving power among the nations blessed are you lord god of our salvation to you be praise and glory forever as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief your only son was lifted up on the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself may we walk this day in the way of the cross and always be ready to share its weight declaring your love for all the world blessed be god father son and holy spirit blessed be god forever some verses from the lamentation of jeremiah which are traditionally used at this time of considering jesus and his journey to the cross is it nothing to you all you who pass by look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me which the lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger for these things i weep my eyes flow with tears for a comforter is far from me one to revive my courage remember my affliction and my bitterness the wormwood and the gall but this i call to mind and therefore i have hope the steadfast love of the lord never ceases his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning great is his faithfulness i'm going to read this morning a passage from the first letter of saint paul to the corinthians beginning at the 18th verse for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but us who are being saved it is the power of god for it is written i will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever i will thwart is the wise person where is the scribe where is the debater of this age has not god made foolish the wisdom of this world for since in the wisdom of god the world did not know god through wisdom it pleased god through the foolishness of what we preach to save those who believe for jews demand signs and greeks seek wisdom but we preach christ crucified a stumbling block to jews and foolishness to gentiles but to those who are called both jews and greeks christ the power of god and the wisdom of god for the foolishness of god is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of god is stronger than human strength this is the first of april it's april fool's day and therefore i chose a lesson about foolishness later in the epistle to the corinthians in chapter four sin paul reckons the apostles are being fools for christ because so many are laughing at their message and yet to be fools for christ is something of which he boasts and the cross of christ is something in which he trusts this is a day when traditionally people play jokes on each other i will remember in i think 1957 when my parents were watching the very serious television program panorama and the commentator was richard dimbleby the solemn voice of all royal occasions and he announced that the spaghetti harvesters of southern switzerland were going into their garden to harvest the spaghetti and with a lovely swiss tune behind and a serious commentator we were shown film of families going to the gardens and picking the spaghetti from the trees we all believed it in those days it was impossible to think that the solemn bbc program panorama could play a joke on us and yet afterwards it gave the nation enormous laughter and the media on this day have often done the same truly humor in the midst of sorrow and sadness is something which cheers a family up sometimes their little family jokes of remembering things sometimes they're new ones that we share and pass around and laughter comes from them it's a day for that today amidst all our sorrows and when a smile is raised then somehow love is shown sometimes humor can be cruel but often it can be supportive and wonderful here in canterbury we have the tradition long long back of geoffrey chaucer's canterbury tales they are full of humor of people telling stories to one another on their journey we think of that today wherever we are either in our minds if we're isolated and together with our families we can do that by telephone we can do it in pictures but as we do that let us also think of those who are most sorrowful today and need encouragement and strength i'm using first our prayer on our website and then afterwards i shall say the collect the special prayer for this part of holy week god of all love in whom we are all united from whom we can never be separated strengthen all those far from loved ones this day help them to know your presence with them and strengthen their hearts by those memories and pictures give us the gift of your holy spirit that all of us may know the consolation of our fellowship with one another and our fellowship in you and may hope and joy in due time be fulfilled in reunion through jesus christ our lord amen most merciful god who by the death and resurrection of your son jesus christ delivered and saved the world grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross we may triumph in the power of his victory through jesus christ our lord amen together we say the prayer our savior taught us in whatever language and in whatever way we would normally say it 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 it's a moment of silence when we pray for all those who are on our hearts and pictured in our minds on this wednesday morning christ crucified draw you to himself to find in him a sure ground for faith a firm support for hope and the assurance of sins forgiven and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you and upon those whom you love this day and forever amen