good morning and welcome to Canterbury Cathedral on this Saturday morning of the third weekend of Easter but it also happens the 25th of April to be the feast day of St Mark the Evangelist who wrote the earliest of the gospels and so we give thanks for St Mark today amidst our Easter celebrations we've come up here to the orchard to find some shelter is rather a gray and chilly day today but nevertheless it makes the blossom of the apple trees around me almost luminous oh Lord open our lips and our mouths shall Proclaim your praise your Faithful Servants bless you they make known the glory of your kingdom blessed are you Sovereign God ruler and judge of all to you be praise and glory forever in the darkness of this age that is passing away May the light of your presence which the Saints enjoy surround our steps as we journey on May we reflect your glory this day and so be ready to see your face in the Heavenly City where night shall be no more Blessed Be god father Son and Holy Spirit blessed be God forever our Psalm this morning on this 25th morning of the month is part of Psalm 119 and I'm beginning to read at verse 33 teach me oh Lord the way of your statutes and I shall keep it to the end give me understanding and I shall keep your law I shall keep it with my whole heart lead me in the path of your Commandments for there is my delight incline my heart to your testimonies and not to unjust gain turn away my eyes lest they Gaze on vanities oh give me Life in your ways confirm to your servant your promise which stands for all who fear you turn away the reproach which I dread because your judgments are good behold I long for your Commandments in your righteousness give me life our reading this morning comes from The Acts of the Apostles and it speaks of Barnabas and Paul setting out on a missionary journey they're going out to give good news to other places in the mediterran Ian world of that time and they decide to take with them a companion we've come across him a little bit earlier in the Acts of the Apostles his name is John Mark and both names seem to be used later on in his history he seems to become just Mark as in the first letter of St Peter but for this morning we meet him for the first time by himself he's been referred to before as the son of Mary who owns the house in Jerusalem where they are all staying and to which Peter goes back when he escapes from his imprisonment but for now Barnabas and Paul say that they will take him on their first missionary journey this is when St Paul as he became is still known by his name Saul and Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service bringing with them John whose other name was Mark so being sent out by the Holy Spirit they went down to cusia and from there they sailed to Cyprus when they arrived at salamis they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews and they had John Mark to assist them when they had gone through the whole island as far as posos they came across a certain magician a Jewish false prophet named bar Jesus he was with the proconsul sergius paulus a man of intelligence who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God but elmus the magician for that is the meaning of his name opposed them seeking to turn the proconsul away from the face but Saul who was also called Paul filled with the Holy Spirit looked intently at him and said you son of the devil you enemy of all righteousness full of all deceit and villainy will you not stop making crooked the straight Paths of the Lord and now behold the hand of the Lord is upon you and you will be blind and unable to see the Sun for a Time immediately mist and darkness fell upon the magician and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand then the proconsul believed when he saw what had occurred for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord now Paul and his companions set sail from posos and came to perga in pamilia but John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem we don't know why he left them but clearly Paul was dissatisfied with the fact that he had left them and felt that here was a lack of resolve a lack of Courage maybe a lack of faith in the young man later though when they begin to think of another missionary journey Barnabas says let's give Mark a second chance but Paul was very much against that I'll just add the verses in chapter 15 which speak of this after some days Paul said to Barnabas Let Us return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city we proclaim the word of the Lord in and see how they are now Barnabas wanted to take with them John Mark but Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in pamilia and had not gone with them to the work and there arose a sharp disagreement so that Barnabas and Paul separated from each other Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus but Paul chose Silas and departed visiting the churches in Syria and cissa a sharp dispute I think it it doesn't surprise us that it's Barnabas who wants to give Mark a second chance after all he'd been the one who first was brave enough to put out his hand and welcome Saul who had been known as a persecutor of the church Paul is definite when someone had shown this lack of resolve there could be no Second Chances we all deserve Second Chances there's a a story which Jesus tells in his parables about fruit trees like these two blossoming apple trees near me the landowner comes and finds the fruit tree which has not produced fruit and says to The Gardener chop it down and you remember the gardener says no give me a chance to dig round it and put fertilizer on it and tend it and then we shall see if it produces fruit both these trees have had second chances they blown over they're old trees yet they both produce beautiful apples indeed this tree here produces the best tasting red apple that I know it's old and the Apple hasn't been identified even by the people in brogdale where the national collection of fruit trees is near to us but nevertheless every year it's full of dark red apples and they eat well off the tree they don't keep and so it's an immediate sensation both having been given Second Chances fruit well and Barnabas gave that second chance to Mark I think it doesn't surprise us that later on in his history Mark is found as the disciple of Peter in Rome indeed as we were saying yesterday at even song Peter was the inspiration for the writing down of the story of Jesus by Mark in the earliest gospel and in that gospel Peter clearly insisted that his own failure his denial of Jesus was set down clearly Jesus gave Peter a second chance and that second chance allows him to found his church on his Rock for Second Chances and mistakes and more chances are the ways that we learn at this time we're facing a situation in our human world which none of us have ever faced before leaders Across the Nation and individual human beings are having to make choices about new situations and of course we make mistakes but it's a time when we can be kind to each other and see that everyone is trying to do their best and needs a second chance if St Mark's day tells us anything about the young writer of the gospel and disciple of St Peter it tells us that often making the mistake or failing in something that one thought one had the resolve to do is the next step to doing something better and more strongly we learn by our mistakes so thank God for the story of St Mark on his Festival day today so we come to say our prayers together and first of all we say the special prayer for St Mark's day almighty God who enlightened your holy church through the inspired witness of your evangelist St Mark grant that we being firmly grounded in the truth of the Gospel may be faithful to its teaching both in word and deed through Jesus our Lord amen and the Easter collect for this week Almighty father you have given your only son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve you in pureness of living and Truth through the merits of your son Jesus Christ our Lord amen as we come to say our own prayers in this mother Church of the Anglican communion we pray for our worldwide communion and day by day for different dases and provinces within it today for the dasis of mororo in Tanzania and for its Bishop Godfrey sahaba and his people the dasis of wulu in the southern Sudan and for Zachariah manga ha the bishop there and his people and the dasis of Eesa Northeast in Nigeria and for Joseph olusola the bishop there and all his people we pray for this dasis of Canterbury for Justin our Archbishop Rose Bishop of DOA Tim Bishop at Lambeth and today for the Parish of Holy Trinity Ramsgate for Paul blanch in his ministry there and all his people mentioning names across the world cause us to know that many nations are facing different problems as they combat the Corona virus we think of all those as Nations as communities as individual households and as isolated individuals in our prayers and we pray for Hope and healing in every nation keeping in mind those who we ourselves know best and would want to pray for this morning oh Lord our refuge our hope our peace be with us this day as our protector and our Salvation calm our anxieties forgive our mistakes ease our fears soften any sadness that we may find in you our true rest and our perfect restoration through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen so we pray the prayer Our Savior taught us to pray whenever we meet together in whatever way and in whichever language you like to 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 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 on this Saturday morning God give you Grace to follow St Mark and all his Saints in faith and hope and love and the blessing of God Almighty the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always amen