Today is the feast of the author of the second gospel: John Mark. As Jesus, his mother's name also was Mary. He and his mother were highly esteemed in the early Church, and his mother's house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for Christians there. St. Mark was associated with St. Paul and St. Barnabas (who was Mark's cousin) on their missionary journey through the island of Cyprus. Later he accompanied Barnabas alone. We also know that he was in Rome with St. Peter and St. Paul. Tradition ascribes to him the founding of the Church in Alexandria, Egypt.
St. Mark wrote the second Gospel, probably in Rome sometime before the year 60; he wrote it in Greek for the Gentile converts to Christianity. Tradition tells us that Mark was requested by the Romans to set down the teaching of St. Peter. This seems to be confirmed by the position which St. Peter has in this Gospel In this way the second Gospel is a record of the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of the Prince of the Apostles. He was martyred, most likely on this date in the year 72.
Our first reading today from the first letter of St. Peter, himself, gives the full flavor of the writing of this Prince of the Apostles. He is so very sensitive and aware of the nature of God's tremendous graces grounded in the redemption that was won by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus; a death that was caused by his own people, the Jewish people; a resurrection that was foretold and promised from all ages, not to be hindered even by merciless death as its prerequisite.
Peter, then, first exhorts the Jewish people to humble themselves and to repent of their stubborn, sinful ways and to turn to the Lord of Life, the Lord of Love, the Lord of Forgiveness – and away from the Devil who is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He tells them to resist the devil, stand firm in the faith, accept God's grace and know that their brother and sister Christians everywhere are engaged in the same struggle with evil. Many did listen to Peter, many were converted and the numbers of the Christian faith grew (and it is still growing).
In our day – the devil is still roaring – he is still devouring anyone and everyone who is caught off-guard – but we have available to us the same grace and strength that Peter offered the early Christians: the light, power and grace of the Holy Spirit. The thrust of St. Mark's Gospel – because it is the thrust of St. Peter's ministry is this: proclaiming Christ Crucified, we proclaim the power of God to overcome the world in all its sinfulness.
The gospel passage is from St. Mark's accounting itself. St. Mark is the "bottom line" gospel writer. His story of Jesus is very plain, simple, direct and not filled with long explanations and wordy analogies. He basically lets Jesus speak for himself. Here he is simply relating that Jesus appeared to the Eleven and gave them the commission to preach the gospel to the whole world, to baptize believers and to perform signs of healing. Then Jesus was taken up to heaven. And the apostles went and did as he asked them and the Lord worked with them (by means of the Holy Spirit) and confirmed the word through accompanying signs: and he is doing the same thing this very day – throughout the Church, throughout the world, throughout the ages!
Thank you St. Mark for being a faithful friend of St. Peter, and a reliable source of information about Jesus: the bottom-line version!
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