welcome to canterbury cathedral as the evening of this friday draws on the end of easter week and we've come to say our evening prayers remembering all those who across the world most need our help all those wherever you are whom you would want to pray for at this time of spreading coronavirus remembering all those who are caring for people and bringing resources to people in cities and in the countryside across our world so we begin our evening prayer for this friday night o lord open thou our lips and our mouth shall show forth thy praise o god make speed to save us o lord make haste to help us glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end praise he the lord the lord's name be praised this is the 16th day of the month and one of the prayer the psalms for evening prayer on this day is psalm 85 it is a beautiful sound and speaks of god's good will towards his people lord thou art become gracious unto thy land thou hast turned away the captivity of jacob thou hast forgiven the offence of thy people and covered all their sins thou hast taken away all thy displeasure and turn thyself from thy wrothful indignation turn us there oh god our savior and let thine anger cease from us will thou be displeased at us forever and will those stretch out thy roth from one generation to another will thou not turn again and quicken us that thy people may rejoice in thee show our sigh of mercy o lord and grant us thy salvation i will hearken what the lord god will say concerning me for he shall speak peace unto his people and to his saints that they turn not again for his salvation is nigh them that fear him that glory may dwell in our land mercy and truth are met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other truth shall flourish out of the earth unrighteousness hath looked down from heaven ye the lord shall show lovingkindness and our land shall give her increase righteousness shall go before him and he shall direct his going in the way glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen going tonight to go right back to the beginning of st mark's gospel for a change takes place at this time in easter week as we shall see and tomorrow gives us a completely different location and here is one of the clues to it from mark's gospel the first chapter beginning at the 12th verse jesus has just come out of the wilderness following his temptations at the very beginning of his ministry the spirit immediately drove jesus out into the wilderness he was in the wilderness 40 days tempted by satan and he was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him after john the baptist was arrested jesus came into galilee preaching the gospel of god and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of god is at hand repent and believe in the gospel passing along by the sea of galilee he saw simon and andrew the brother of simon casting a net in the sea for they were fishermen and jesus said to them follow me and i will make you become fishers of men and immediately they left their nets and followed him and going on a little further he saw james the son of zebedee and john and his brother who were in their boats mending the nets and immediately he called them and they left their father zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed jesus and they went into capernaum and immediately on the sabbath day jesus entered the synagogue and taught the very beginning there by the sea of galilee and in the townships and villages of that rural section of the holy land pilgrimage is something that we're used to here people arriving and finding this place this holy place so say the end of their journey but in fact a pilgrimage doesn't end at the holy place there's still the way home and the pilgrimage ends on one's own doorstep and it's then that you can say this is the end but every end is a new beginning and ends and beginnings quite often look fairly similar we remember that in saint mark's gospel right at the end when the women come to the tomb the young man says to them he is going before you into galilee as he said there you will see him and true enough as we shall find in our lessons tomorrow he meets them in galilee and he meets them so that they can make a new beginning very often too the places where we start become that new beginning and so we give thanks that having received the easter message the disciples and many many disciples following them are go those who will go on to carry out that same teaching and proclaiming of the good news that jesus began in galilee tomorrow that's where we shall find them with jesus ready to forgive them on the lakeside so we say our canticle for this evening as always the song of mary the magnificat my soul death magnify the lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in god my savior for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed for he that is mighty hath magnified me and holy is his name and his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations he has shared strength with his arm he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts he has put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble and meek he has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent empty away he remembering his mercy has opened his servant israel as he promised to our forefathers abraham and his seed forever glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen so we say the special prayer for this easter week almighty god whose through thy only begotten son jesus christ has to overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life we humbly beseech thee that as by thy special grace preventing us thou does put into our minds good desires so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect through jesus christ our lord who liveth and reign it with thee and the holy ghost ever one god world without end amen so in a moment of silence we remember all of those who this evening we would want to pray for those whom we have perhaps been in contact with through the day those that we have a special desire to pray for because they need help maybe it's only fair that you've seen in news relations or those that you've heard of in your own community who particularly at this time of separation need our prayer and of course we always pray for those whom we love and those for whom we have any responsibility we pray for ourselves we use then the words our savior taught us to say in whatever language and in whatever way you would like to use them 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 [Music] may god the god of peace who brought again from the dead our lord jesus christ 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 this night and always amen you