Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist

Biographical Information about St. Mark[1]

Readings for the Feast of St. Mark[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis

Commentary:

Reading 1 1 Pt 5:5b-14

St. Peter, according to most scholars, probably wrote this letter just before his death in Rome (code named Babylon in our text today) between 65 and 67. This part of his letter encourages fidelity to the Lord in the face of persecution which comes from the devil. The mention of Mark at the end of this selection is probably referring to the Evangelist whose feast we celebrate today.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Psalm 89 is a song of thanksgiving. The selection we have today links nicely back to the faithfulness so passionately encouraged by St. Peter above.

Gospel Mk 16:15-20

The verse just prior to this passage, which is the ending of St. Mark’s Gospel, indicates that the disciples are still not sure what has happened (typical of the image we have of the disciples in St. Mark's Gospel) and Jesus comes to them at table, rebuking them for their unbelief. That sets the stage for this commissioning address by the Lord. Once again the Disciples now Apostles are sent into the world with God’s blessing.

Reflection:

Today we have a little break in our on-going stories from the Acts of the Apostles as we celebrate the Feast of St. Mark. As a tribute to him we hear the very end of this shortest of the canonical Gospels. As you will see, if you follow the link to the biographical information (above), Mark was thought to be the Mark mentioned in the reading from 1st Peter we also hear today. He was also thought to be the young man who ran away when Jesus was arrested. As such he was very familiar with the Jesus story.

Although he was not as eloquent as Matthew or Luke nor as theologically well grounded as John, his gospel gives us view of the disciples that seems unvarnished and lets us identify with a group of followers who were not perfect and did not understand. His portrait is very believable and balances well against Johns Gospel in which Jesus himself (in the eyes of the author) has much more foreknowledge than he does according to St. Mark. Mark uniquely shows us Jesus Christ True God and True Man most clearly. Today we see Jesus' farewell to the Apostles as he ascends to the Father.

While we are not given the formula of; Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. as we are in Matthew, we can still see the importance placed on that conversion and the indelible change it manifests in each of us.

The reading from St. Peter gives us another glimpse into the life of the early Christian community and reminds us that, as a people who share a common faith and purpose, we are to accept that mantle with humility. It is a lesson we as a community learned again four decades ago when, with the advent of the Vatican II changes, we dropped the "Triumphant Church" attitude of;" If you're not Catholic you're going to hell." It is a corporate learning experience many of our protestant brethren are still struggling to learn.

We are asked to be open, inviting and inclusive. This supports the great paradox of Christ's teaching that we must be part of the world (in order to affect change) but be separate from it to insure we retain the ideals that define us as Christian. Today I go out into the world once more and pray that my Christian identity is obvious to all I meet.

Pax
[1] The image today is “St. Mark Enthroned with Saints” by Vecellio Tiziano, 1510
[2] After Link Expiration