good morning and welcome to canterbury cathedral on this wednesday the 15th of july today in our calendar is since switzerland's day since switzerland was the bishop of winchester who asked when he died to be buried where the rain could fall on his grave and in the year 971 he was moved inside winchester cathedral and from then on it rained outside for 40 days so to said so there's a tradition here in england that if it rains today it will rain for 40 days but it's not looking as though it's going to rain this morning we're in full sunshine and we welcome you from wherever you are across the world and i've chosen to sit here because behind me is blooming on the wall a passion flower we'll think about this a little later on but it will actually help to illustrate where jesus has come to in his journey with his disciples and those who've been following them and now in jerusalem we find him teaching in the temple but first let's say our morning prayers o lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise may christ the true the only light banish all darkness from our hearts and minds 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 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 so god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen our psalm on this morning of the months is psalm 77 i cry aloud to god i cry aloud to god and he will hear me in the day of my trouble i have sought the lord by night my hand is stretched out and does not tire my soul refuses comfort i think upon god and i groan and ponder and my spirit faints you will not let my eyelids close i am so troubled that i cannot speak i consider the days of old i remember the years long past i commune with my heart in the night my spirit searches for understanding will the lord cast us off forever will he no more show us his favor has his loving mercy clean gone forever has his promise come to an end forevermore has god forgotten to be gracious has he shut up his compassion in displeasure and i said my grief is this that the right hand of the most high has lost its strength i will remember the works of the lord and call to mind your wonders of old time i will meditate on all your works and ponder your mighty deeds your way o god is holy who is so great a god is our god you are the god who works wonders and declared your power among the peoples with a mighty arm you redeemed your people the children of jacob and joseph the waters saw you o god the waters saw you and were afraid the depths also were troubled the clouds poured out water the skies thunder your arrows flashed on every side the voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind your lightnings lit up the ground the earth trembled and shook your way was in the sea and your paths in the great waters but your footsteps were not known you led your people like sheep by the hand of moses and aaron perhaps in verse 13 the verse your way oh god is holy reminds us of first what christians were called at the very beginning of the life of the early church followers of the way and also of people like bartimaeus when his blindness was healed by jesus not going back but following jesus on the way and we remember this morning where that way led that way of holiness and how costly it was to jesus as we come to our reading from luke we've reached jerusalem and jesus is teaching in the temple courtyard since luke is not as definite as saint mark as the days go by in passion week but we have reached passion week in the gospels story and we find jesus teaching the people remember our lesson yesterday ended the people were hanging on his words so let's continue verse 1 of chapter 20 of saint luke one day as jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him tell us by what authority you do these things or who it is that gave you this authority jesus answered them i also will ask you a question now tell me was the baptism of john the baptist from heaven or from man and they discussed it with one another saying if we say from heaven he will say why did you not believe him but if we say from a human authority all the people will stone us to death for they are convinced that john was a prophet so they answered that they did not know where it came from jesus said to them neither will i tell you by what authority i do these things sometimes on these days when we're together we think of the same date in the past and there is little of moment that has happened particularly which we can think about on this day today is rather different i said it was since swithen's day it's also if i scatter around but beginning with the most tragic memorial 25 years ago at this time the appalling massacre of so many in srebrenica as serb forces burst into the safe haven created by the united nations terrorizing 40 000 women and children and killing shooting up 8 000 muslim men and boys a horrendous tragedy and something that we look back on at this 25th anniversary with shame for humanity and our protection of each other it's an anniversary at this time to we think of other shall we call them divisions in in our own community on this day in 1207 king john expelled the monks of canterbury because they wanted desperately to support the candidacy of stephen langton whom we were thinking of just a few days ago as archbishop of canterbury so great distress in this holy place in 1823 the beautiful basilica of sin paul outside the walls in rome was destroyed by an enormous fire and thank god that church has been rebuilt today human happenings but at the same time in 1799 a french captain pierre francois bouchard serving in napoleon's army in egypt discovered the rosetta stone now the rosetta stone showed a decree from the pharaoh ptolemy that was written out in three different languages one of them egyptian hieroglyphs which had never before been able to be translated so the stone gave a key to communication between different languages in translation so as they were able to translate the ancient greek which one of the translations was then beneath the hieroglyphs gave up their secret of communication our friend antoine de santiago said that in the last century he was talking in 1944 most of the significant creations of moments were all about communication the telegraph the telephone he himself in charge of airmail as part of his by starting up the airmail services in south america there everything about communication and but for the communication that we could have now lockdown would have actually kept us from each other but in this way i'm able to speak to you and read the story of jesus giving good news or gospel in the temple courtyard as the people listened hanging on his words i think that we need to see what the question of the pharisees and elders and sadducees what that question actually was where do you get this authority and that's not a question the crowds are asking they are sensing that authority in their own heart the passion flower behind me has always been called a passion flower because there at the front of it is the threefold sign of the creator the redeemer and the giver of life the spirit which came upon jesus at his baptism validating for him that the work of john the baptist was of heaven's sending and seeing uh the heavens opening and a the holy spirit like a dove coming upon him the threefold sign at the front of that flower and behind the five-fold sign of the wounds of the redeemer and beyond that the sun-like quality of all creation shining around that but the five wounds are there to show where the way of god which was holy would lead in terms of situations in human life of suffering and what we might call disaster where at calvary at golgotha defeat became the most amazing resurrection victory but all those things are not perceived simply because jesus is able to give to the pharisees well i have this this chit this attestation of my authority given by and stamped it's not like that nor is it like that when we're even listening to the gospel the authority validates itself in human situations which the crowds are even then beginning to experience and they will grow hot and cold as the days of the passion go on and in the end jesus has to walk the holy way of god alone psalm 77 speaks of the inner turmoils of someone wrestling in the night with that vocation they know they have wrestling with the works of creation all around them sensing the roaring of the oceans the power of god in thunder and lightning and all of that all these things that we remember on since wednesday the falling of the rain but at the same time the authority is only validated when at a particular point that particular vocation of someone following the way is able to follow jesus himself despite their fears and step forward but we give thanks that in the midst of all this the crowds are hearing him gladly jesus doesn't say to the lord here's the authority they're actually sensing this and you know in your hearts where the authority of john the baptist came from he simply as he so often does responds with a question to them and then says so i can't answer your question either and that's a good enough answer for oftentimes when we're wrestling with understanding i don't know is quite a good answer for now but jesus himself of course knows but the validation must take place in the hearts of those who are asking that hostile question because it has already taken place in the hearts of the crowd who are hanging on his words in the temple courtyard so on this day let's give thanks for the passion flower which has always been seen as a reminder of not only god's power as creator and redeemer and giver of life in terms of spiritual gifts but also the sign of the five wounds of what it costs and what it cost the redeemer to affect that we give thanks for that we also pray for our friends in the diocese of winchester today pray for tim bishop of winchester the diocese of since within and catherine the dean of our sister cathedral of winchester and the community there in our prayers today we are praying for first of all in the anglican communion the diocese of northern mexico and francisco moreno the primus of that province and also the diocese of bari in nigeria and idris zubairu the bishop there and his people were praying to for the star downs benefits praying for smith mursham braeborn monks horton stouting and selinge and as we think of the rosetta stone we give thanks for the way in which we are able to communicate with each other when language barriers are broken down and methods of communication open up so as we pray for all our communities we give thanks for that and in the star downs benefits in those villages i've just named we pray for god's blessing on christenia in the ministry there and all the people who live there pray for your own communities and bring to our prayers all whom you love and would pray for on this day here's a special prayer for since swithen's day almighty god by whose grace we celebrate again the feast of your servant swifton granted as he governed with gentleness the people committed to his care so we rejoicing in our christian inheritance may always seek to build up your church in unity and love through jesus christ our lord amen so we pray the colleagues at the end of psalm 77 god our shepherd you led us and saved us in times of old do not forget your people in their troubles but raise up your power to sustain the poor and helpless for the honor of jesus christ our lord our men so as we say the prayer that jesus taught us to say in whatever language then we think also of those we will want to bring into that prayer and remember this day we remember with thanksgiving our friend pat hunt whose funeral is today down in somerset a long way from us we remember all those who will gather to give thanks for her life and her life of service as the high sheriff of that county in all that she did you will have names in your hearts that you will add to that silently after the our father but let's say the our father 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 to his son jesus christ our lord and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you and remain with you always amen