Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 15, 2023 - Octave of Easter - Sat
[Acts 4:13-21 and Mark 16:9-15]When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalen, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. But later, as the Eleven were at Table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." [Mark]
The Bible as we know it today did not initially spring from the printing press with chapters and verses and study notes!! It took shape over many centuries before the version that we Catholics are accustomed to use was defined by the Council of Trent (1545-1560)!! In the process, written scriptures were copied by hand on all kinds of "paper" and, inevitably, scribes would make changes, intentionally or unintentionally, to the text. The Gospel According to Mark shows this in the gospel scripture for today. The passage is called "the longer ending" since it is one of at least two "endings" that appeared in different manuscripts that were circulating among the early Church Fathers and monastic settings.
The main text ends with the women saying "nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. The "ending" says that Mary Magdalen went and told the disciples what she had seen at the tomb, and they refused to believe her or the two disciples who saw Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. The emphasis is on the disbelief of the "companions" and Jesus' rebuke for their disbelief, followed by the commission to preach the gospel "to every creature." Without the other three gospels, we would be left with a very barebones tradition about the resurrection and its aftermath. The other evangelists had additional testimonies along with the Gospel According to Mark to work with.
What remains for us today is the commission to preach the gospel to "every creature." This commission comes to us not only in the four gospels, but also in the rest of the New Testament. The story is told in as many ways as there are "books" in the New Testament, but the commission remains the same. How are we doing this now? AMEN