Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 25, 2009 - St. Mark the Evangelist
[1 Peter 5:5b-14 and Mark 16:15-20]Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
The liturgical choices of the Church are sometimes ironically amusing. The choice of the gospel scripture on the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist is from what scripture scholars call "the Marcan Appendix." This means it appears not to have been a part of the original document but added by someone else later on - not too much later, because it was sufficiently well known to be considered part of the canonical scriptures. One can imagine St. Mark yelling from heaven, "I didn't write that! It's MY feast day!, etc. etc." However, this brief passage is worth reading closely. One commentator I checked showed 22 references of echoes of other gospel passages! This makes the gospel scripture today a virtual "reader's digest" of gospel themes! The main point is witness to the Risen Jesus. The last couple of lines are the kernel: Then the Lord Jesus, afer e spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. Then they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. In case you're wondering, the THEY in the last sentence includes US! How are we doing? AMEN
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