Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 25, 2015 - April 25 - St. Mark, evangelist
[1 Pet 5:5b-14 and Mark 16:15-20]"Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." [Mark]
I think it could be said without contradiction that the evangelist Mark fulfilled and continues to fulfill the very command of Jesus that appears in the Gospel of Mark. Wherever the Bible is present, the Gospel of Mark is present, and the Bible is just about everywhere in the world.
There is an old liturgical tradition of saying the Litany of the Saints on the feast of St. Mark. I experienced that tradition when I was in Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the feast day in 1988. From Jerusalem a small group of frightened disciples went forth to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature.
Scripture scholars tell us that the Gospel of Mark is the oldest of the gospels, and it is clear that Matthew and Luke borrowed heavily from it in composing their own story of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it has its own tone and agenda. Jesus is very confrontational and the disciples are very inept! After this past week with the very challenging language of the Gospel of John, it is almost refreshing to come back to this different preaching. But the message is essentially the same in this season and in all four gospels: Christ is risen, Alleluia! AMEN
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