The Feast of St Mark | Tuesday 25 April 2023

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Today is Tuesday the 25th of April, the feast of St Mark.

The Porter’s Gate sing, ‘The Promise’.

This gift you gave from the beginning

Warm light, dry land, blue water brimming

And more, from the earth there came a growing

From seed to bloom, all the while you were sowing

It was love, love given in the water

And peace, God's peace written in the letters

Of the earth, God's earth, given with a promise

Can we keep it

Can we keep it

And stars in the night to gaze on them kindly

Great light, cool moon, all aligned in the sky, see

From water came life and so from the land

To feed, not to fight, to stand hand in hand

It was love, love given in the water

And peace, God's peace, given in the sunshine

And the earth, God's earth, given with a promise

Can we keep it

Out from the silence I hear a voice, I follow it onwards

You whisper to me, I am reminded of every gift you gave

So, spirit lead me unto the waters, unto the earth you made

Teach me the secret to ever care for, to look after it

It was love, love given in the water

And peace, God's peace written in the letters

Of the earth, God's earth, given with a promise

Can we keep it

Can we keep it

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark.

Mark 16:15-20

And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

Today is the feast of St Mark, the evangelist who wrote the first of the four gospels; and the reading chosen for the feast is the last few verses of the canonical text of his gospel.

How often do you spend time thinking of the “good news”? What is so good about it for you?

“Cast out demons…speak in new tongues…pick up snakes…” What has been your experience of the signs accompanying your work or the work of other Christian believers?

They “proclaimed the good news everywhere”. Has this been true in your experience? How have you shared the good news? How has it been shared with you?

Now listen as the passage is read once more. Listen out for the verse: “the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message”… What signs have you seen of this claim…?

Finally, see if you can bring together all the thoughts and feelings that you have experienced during this time. Can you turn them into a prayer to God?

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.