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MUSIC: CHOIR - Cantate Domino (Pitoni)

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Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father,

and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

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And also with you

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

This is the day that the Lord has made

ALL:

So let us rejoice and be glad in it.

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

We have come together in the name of Christ

To offer our praise and thanksgiving,

To hear and receive God鈥檚 holy word,

To pray for the needs of the world,

and to seek his forgiveness of our sins,

That in the power of the Holy Spirit

We may give ourselves to the service of God.

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And so good morning and welcome to 鈥榯he Chapel of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor鈥�. Founded by King Henry VI in 1440, this place was and still is at the heart of Eton College. Originally, King Henry made provision for the education of 70 scholars, but over the years the numbers have expanded into the school of today that has 1,350 boys.

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The school year ended a few days ago and now Eton has a new community of young people from all over the world, as well as many from this country. One of the groups who arrived earlier this week are members of this year鈥檚 first Eton Choral course 鈥� and it is they who are the choristers singing this morning. So I welcome them and the congregation here, and all who have now joined us as we gather to worship God in this historic place..

In a moment we shall sing our first hymn which was written by a former pupil of Eton College 鈥� Robert Bridges. Bridges was a boy here in the mid 19th century and became Poet Laureate in 1913 鈥� this year is the anniversary of his appointment.

After his university years, Bridges was intent on practising medicine. Reports have it that when he was working as a young doctor at St Bartholomew鈥檚 Hospital in London, he saw over 39,000 patients in just one year, driven by his strong Christian faith. In 1881, not unsurprisingly, his health broke down. But it was then that he was able to spend time writing and, amongst other things, to encourage the writings of a friend he had made at Oxford when an undergraduate. This was Gerard Manley Hopkins 鈥� someone from a very different background, a bright, creative and aspiring poet born in the same year as Bridges听 -1844.

This morning we shall hear three of Hopkin鈥檚 poems and two passages from the great poetic book of Job in the Scriptures as we explore themes of faith, celebration, loss and suffering.

But first the hymn, written by Robert Bridges 鈥榃hen morning gilds the skies鈥�

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MUSIC: HYMN - When morning gilds the skies (Laudes Domini)

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

Some people are brilliant at painting in words. They see beyond the ordinary, the mundane and the obvious. An ordinary photograph records what is there in front of the camera but the same scene viewed and interpreted by an artist may lead us to see far more 鈥� it can take us beyond the obvious and highlight features and angles through colour, light and darkness which point us to aspects which are new and even startling.

Gerard Manley Hopkins was such a painter in words. In his poetry he illuminates and interprets, highlighting signs of the transcendence and glory of God.

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Peter Broad:

God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins听听听

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

Hopkins鈥� poem 鈥楪od鈥檚 Grandeur鈥� read by actor Peter Broad 鈥� a former Head of Drama here at Eton.

As my colleague, Sue Young will explain now, Hopkins displayed a creativity inherited from his family.

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Sue Young:

As a boy, Gerard Manley Hopkins鈥� first ambition was to be a painter. He had something of his father鈥檚 restless intellectual curiosity and also much of his mother鈥檚 spiritually contemplative, self-denying nature.

As a student at Oxford, Hopkins became caught up in the debate about faith and doubt, science and religion, creation and evolution, as well as the question as to which branch of the Christian Church was the true one. He was torn this way and that 鈥� both intellectually and spiritually. They were stimulating yet confusing times.

But, despite the controversies, Hopkins retained his love of the whole created order of life. His thrill in noting the detail and complexities of nature was always the spark which evoked in him that sense of wonder and celebration, and which inspired faith.

Hopkin鈥檚 journal is full of his observations 鈥� notes about colour, form, movement, light and that which he sees as being the creative power and energy in even the most desperate and degrading of situations 鈥� especially where human mastery had demeaned and oppressed鈥�.

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And so let us pray.

- that the ever-loving Spirit will renew and inspire us.

We ask for forgiveness for all that has been imperfect -

We acknowledge our ignorance, injustice, thoughtlessness and greed,

Our lack of generosity, complacency and arrogance

Which have spoilt creation and marred relationships.

So re-make us, Lord and give us a vision of your Love

That we may be both forgiven and forgiving,

And live justly in peace with one another and all creation.

This we ask through Christ our Lord.

ALL:

Amen.

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MUSIC: CHOIR - Lord have mercy

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

May the Father of all mercies

Cleanse us from sin

Restore us in His image -

To the praise and glory of his name,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

ALL:

Amen.

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

The Choir sings the Eighth Psalm which celebrates Creation

鈥極 Lord our Governor, how excellent is thy Name in all the world!鈥�

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MUSIC: CHOIR - Psalm 8

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Hermione Holt:

A Reading from the Book of Job, chapter 19.

The Lord has stripped my glory from me, and taken the crown from my head.听 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, he has uprooted my hope like a tree.听 He has kindled his wrath against me, and counts me as his adversary.听 His troops come on together; they have thrown up siege-works against me, and encamp around my tent.

鈥楬e has put my family far from me, and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.听 My relatives and my close friends have failed me; the guests in my house have forgotten me;鈥╩y serving-girls count me as a stranger; I have become an alien in their eyes.

鈥極 that my words were written down!听 O that they were inscribed in a book! 鈥∣ that with an iron pen and lead鈥╰hey were engraved on a rock for ever!听 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.听 My heart faints within me!

(Job 19.9-15, 23-27)

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

The Book of Job is shot through with the themes of faith, celebration, loss and suffering 鈥� themes which, as our Area Dean, the Revd Rod Cosh, explains now, are also to be found in the writing of Gerard Manley Hopkins.

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The Revd Rod Cosh:

Gerard Manley Hopkins鈥� mother and father did not understand his conversion to Roman Catholicism and, although Hopkins knew it was right for him, he took this rejection harshly.

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Further, his health, both mental and physical, had always been delicate: he was prone to digestive problems and severe depression.听 This led, at times, to dreadful feelings of isolation in his life.

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Job too was very ill: covered in boils, his skin falling away.听 Often when someone is seriously ill the overwhelming sense that can be felt is one of isolation. After all, they are the person who is experiencing the illness alone.听 Others can only look on and often with a sense of total impotence. This is what Job is feeling.听 His family seem far away, his friends have turned away from him.听 Even his maid servant sees him as a stranger.听 In the relationships he experiences there is no longer any certainty; only the greyness of rejection.

Perhaps Gerard Manley Hopkins wasn鈥檛 in such depths of suffering as Job was when Hopkins wrote this next poem for he looks at nature and sees things as dappled.听 When he looks into the sky, and sees the clouds as they float through the blueness reminding him of the patchwork of a cow such as a Friesian - skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow.

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He sees a trout in a stream and notices the subtle markings which make it seem to change colour as it swims through the water.

Even in the man-made countryside he sees the patchwork of the landscape and the variety of human endeavour, which goes to make it up.

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But perhaps what Hopkins realizes through the poem is that very little in life is black and white.听 All creation is tinged with the subtlety of God and the more we look at it the more we see that variety and variation is all parts of God鈥檚 order.听

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Peter Broad:

鈥楶ied Beauty鈥� by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

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The Revd Rod Cosh:

As we heard in our passage from the Book of Job, at the end, for all his sense of alienation from and by those around him, Job clings on to one truth 鈥楩or I know that my Redeemer lives.鈥�

Deep within himself Job knows that even in his darkest moments God is there.听 It is a thought which stirs him so profoundly that his 鈥榟eart faints within him鈥�.

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And for Hopkins as he looks upon the pied beauty of nature, he does so in utter wonderment and all he can say in response is 鈥楶raise him鈥�

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Perhaps we are not only called to find beauty in the unusual, in the extraordinary but also in the ordinary of life 鈥� in the things we take for granted? Perhaps it is only when we find truth and beauty in the things and people around 鈥� in the messiness of daily life that we truly find God.

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When we can find God then we too can say with confidence, 鈥業 know that my redeemer lives鈥�. So much flows from that inner trust that there is something undergirding our lives 鈥� a redeemer present in times of extreme distress, or in times of all pervading hopelessness and sadness which many of us know quite often, or in times of great joy and gladness. Indeed that inner trust in God can take us to places of great thankfulness 鈥� and even joy.

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MUSIC: CHOIR 鈥� Jubilate Deo (Britten)

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Hermione Holt:

A Reading from the Book of Job, chapters 38 and 39.

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 鈥榃ho is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?听 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

鈥榃here were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?听 Tell me, if you have understanding.听 Who determined its measurements鈥攕urely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

鈥楥an you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you?听 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, 鈥淗ere we are鈥�?听 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?听 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?

鈥業s it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings towards the south?听 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up鈥╝nd makes its nest on high?

(Job 38.1-5, 34-37a, 39.26-27)

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The Revd Rod Cosh:

The other day, as I drove down the M4, I saw a bird of prey hovering over the motorway verge. It was one of the most marvellous sights as it hung, suspended in mid-air.听 Its sheer sense of control - as its wings battled with the air so that it could maintain its position - was an awesome sight.

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It was a similar thrilling sight - that of seeing a Kestrel hover - that inspired Gerard Manley Hopkins to write in 1877, what is considered his finest poem, The Windhover, dedicated to Christ our Lord.

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Peter Broad:

The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins听

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The Revd Rod Cosh:

In our second passage from the Book of Job, we found Job being challenged by God in his conversations with Him,: 鈥榃here were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?听 Tell me, if you have understanding.鈥櫶�

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So often we think we know it all: some say that it is only a matter of time before we understand everything.听 After all, knowledge is power and if we have knowledge then we can have control.

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Hopkins, does not seek power or even understanding in the poem we鈥檝e just heard: rather he wrote it in response to a sense of sheer awe. Awe at the sight of the bird in flight and its intrinsic beauty in its natural niche.

听鈥楳y heart in hiding

Stirred for a bird,鈥攖he achieve of; the mastery of the thing!鈥櫶�

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Job is asked by God, 鈥業s it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings towards the south?鈥櫶� No, it is God鈥檚 own wisdom, which supports and evolves the created order.

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This awesome process allows us to understand something of ourselves and where we fit in.听 If we can have awe for a bird in flight then, perhaps, we should try to find that same sense of awe in more prosaic situations.

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Hopkins goes on to find it in something akin to this.听 The simple action of a plough cutting a furrow of soil.听 As the dark earth is parted the furrow shines briefly as the moisture is squeezed to its surface.

鈥楴o wonder of it: sh茅er pl贸d makes plough down sillion鈥�

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And in the observation of a falling ember, black and dull, which as it hits the ground flashes back into bright life once more.

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Perhaps, at times, in our own lives we gain flashes of the brilliancy of God.听 These moments are very special and can be even life changing.

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Our faith tells us that the brilliance of the resurrection came out of the darkness of death.听 Like the lifeless coal falling, Christ was changed and so is our relationship with God, for ever.听 Because Christ has fallen into death, we too are raised to new life with Christ.听

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MUSIC: CHOIR 鈥� 鈥楲et all the world鈥� (Vaughan Williams)

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

Ralph Vaughan Williams鈥� setting of George Herbert鈥檚 hymn - 鈥楲et all the world in every corner sing: My God and King!鈥�

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Sue Young will now lead us in prayer.

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Sue Young 鈥� Prayers:

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the richness of life and experience 鈥� for all that comes to us through joy and sorrow, in celebration and even loss.听

Enable us to see and understand those glimpses of your glory that bring us to wonder and praise.

We give thanks for the beauty and power of the natural world; for vision and insight into life; for the talent and inspiration of those who work with words, music and art; for the gifts of friendship and love, and all that lifts us from fear and loss to joy and faith. So widen and enrich our vision, O Lord, that the ordinary and everyday may be transformed by your love.

Above all, we give thanks for the transforming power of Jesus Christ: for the hope he brings to the world through his life, death and resurrection 鈥� raising us to new life, saving us from despair and uniting us in your Kingdom of Love.

Let us not forget those whom God keeps under his special care 鈥� the sick and needy, the poor and weak, those who are oppressed and who live in fear; all victims of hatred and violence, and those whose lives are torn by despair and loss. At this time we particularly pray for Nelson Mandela 鈥� remembering him, his family and the people of South Africa.

And we remember especially those who suffer in Syria, and the countless refugees; the people of Egypt as they seek a new order; and all who suffer persecution in the cause of justice and truth.

We say together the prayer our Saviour taught us:

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础尝尝:鈥�

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come; thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.听

Give us this day our daily bread.听

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.听

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.听

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.听

Amen.

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Canon Keith Wilkinson 鈥� The Blessing:

May God the Father of All, give you new vision, life and hope; that you may rejoice in Him and all His works, and serve him in faith and love.

And may the Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and evermore.

ALL:

Amen.

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Canon Keith Wilkinson:

We conclude our worship with a hymn which Robert Bridges, friend of Hopkins brought into the English tradition: All my hope of God is founded.

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MUSIC: HYMN - All my hope on God is founded (Michael)

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MUSIC: ORGAN - Allegro maestoso from Sonata in G (Elgar)