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| “Saint Mark” by Guido Reni, 1621 |
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: 1 Peter 5:5b-14
Beloved:
Clothe yourselves with
humility
in your dealings with
one another, for:
God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the
humble.
So humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in
due time.
Cast all your worries
upon him because he cares for you.
Be sober and vigilant.
Your opponent the Devil
is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to
devour.
Resist him, steadfast in
faith,
knowing that your
brothers and sisters throughout the world
undergo the same
sufferings.
The God of all grace
who called you to his
eternal glory through Christ Jesus
will himself restore,
confirm, strengthen, and establish you
after you have suffered
a little.
To him be dominion
forever. Amen.
I write you this briefly
through Silvanus,
whom I consider a
faithful brother,
exhorting you and
testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Remain firm in it.
The chosen one at
Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son.
Greet one another with a
loving kiss.
Peace to all of you who
are in Christ.
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Commentary on 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 A.D. This concluding part of his
letter encourages humility and 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 St. Mark the Evangelist.
"The Apostle concludes his
exhortation with a call to humility, which should express itself in complete
docility in the face of the trials God permits (verses 6-7). This last piece of
advice is often found in Sacred Scripture: 'Cast your burden on the Lord, and
He will sustain you' (Psalm
55:23); Jesus also teaches that we should trust in God's fatherly
providence (cf. Matthew
6:19-34). 'You have such care for each one of us', St. Augustine
exclaims, 'as if you had no others to care for' ("Confessions", 3,
11)." [4]
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17
R. (2) For ever I will sing the
goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I
will sing forever;
through all generations
my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said,
"My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have
confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing
the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens proclaim
your wonders, O LORD,
and your faithfulness,
in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can
rank with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD
among the sons of God?
R. For ever I will sing
the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the people who
know the joyful shout;
in the light of your
countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they
rejoice all the day,
and through your justice
they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing
the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17
Psalm 89 is a lament of
the community. The psalmist rejoices in God’s steadfast support. God’s constant
presence is established through the gift of his creation, proof of his
omnipotence. The selection concludes inviting the faithful to rejoice in God’s
presence and the justice of his judgement.
CCC: Ps 89 709
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Gospel: 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.
Whoever believes and is
baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe
will be condemned.
These signs will
accompany those who believe:
in my name they will
drive out demons,
they will speak new
languages.
They will pick up
serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any
deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on
the sick, and they will recover."
Then the Lord Jesus,
after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the
right hand of God.
But they went forth and
preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked
with them
and confirmed the word
through accompanying signs.
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Commentary on 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). 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. This action is important because it supports the universal
mission of the Twelve. In response to the Lord's instructions the Apostles went
into the world, accompanied by the Holy Spirit ("while the Lord worked
with them"). They demonstrated the truth that is Christ risen.
CCC: Mk 16:15-16 977,
1223; Mk 16:15 888; Mk
16:16 161,
183, 1253, 1256, 1257; Mk 16:17-18 670,
1507; Mk 16:17 434,
1673; Mk 16:18 699; Mk
16:19 659,
659; Mk 16:20 2,
156, 670
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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. Many scholars believe St. 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. If these assumptions are true, 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 a view of the disciples that seems unvarnished. St. Mark
lets us identify with a group of followers who were not perfect and did not
instantly understand the signs Jesus performed or the Lord’s identity as the
Messiah. His portrait is very believable. It balances well against John’s
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 “baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit” as we are in Matthew (Matthew28:19), 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, as a people who share a common faith and purpose, that we are
to accept that mantle with humility. It is a lesson we as a community
learned again five decades ago when, following the reforms of the Second Vatican
Council, 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 effect change), but be
separate from it to insure we retain the ideals that define us as
Christian. Today we go out into the world once more and pray that our
Christian identity is obvious to all we meet.
Pax
In other years: Saturday of the Second Week of
Easter
[1]
The picture is “Saint Mark” by Guido Reni, 1621.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the
exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the
International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is
not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters.”
Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 346.
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