A Celebration of St. Mark, The Evangelist | Mark 16:14–20
May 8, 2022 | 10:45 a.m.
A Celebration of St. Mark, THE Evangelist
READINGS
Isaiah 52:7–10
Psalm 23:1–6
2 Timothy 4:5–18
Mark 16:14-20
message presented by Rev. Frank C. Ruffatto
+Points to ponder
- Does St. Mark’s story/life of faith inspire your faith? If so, how?
- How well do you think you do in sharing the Gospel with others? How well does our congregation do it? If we need improvement, what might it be?
- What do you make of Jesus’ reprimanding His disciples just before He gives them their (our) mission?
+Sermon Transcript
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto each of you from God our Father and our Lord and King, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
He is risen! (He is risen, indeed, Halleluiah!)
Let us pray: Almighty God, You have enriched Your Church with the proclamation of the Gospel through the evangelist Mark. Grant that we may firmly believe these glad tidings and daily walk according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Today, in this Easter – this Resurrection season – we pause to observe one of the Saints whose lives we give thanks for and whose life we seek to mirror as we look to live in godliness and in the light of the Gospel, together here at Redeemer. In other words, my hope, beloved, is that we would have a deeper appreciation of how our Heavenly Father sustained the faithful in past generations, and how we, through their example can serve Him today.
And so here, we celebrate, St. Mark the Evangelist – author of the second Gospel and companion of St. Peter and St. Paul.
“John Mark was cousin to the apostle Barnabas. His mother’s home in Jerusalem was a meeting place for the Early Church. [In the second stanza of the hymn we just sang,] ‘The weak by grace made strong’ refers to the famous incident recorded in Acts [chapter] fifteen. Though John Mark had begun the first missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas, he did not finish it. We’re not told exactly why he returned, but it was clearly without Paul’s blessing. Barnabas, the true son of encouragement, was all for giving the young man a second chance when he and Paul determined to begin a second [missionary] journey. Paul adamantly refused. The disagreement became so sharp that they ended up splitting ways. Paul took Silas and went to Asia Minor; Barnabas took Mark and went to Cyprus.
If that were the end of the story, it would be sad indeed. What a comfort then to read in St. Paul’s final letter: ‘Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.’ Though a veil of silence remains over the details of how it happened, the two were reconciled before Paul’s death and the Church’s ministry strengthened all the more.
Additionally, Peter, writing from Rome, would say, ‘She who is at Babylon (code name for Rome, as in Revelation), who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.’ Thus Mark ministered not only with the Apostles Barnabas and Paul, but with Peter too. Very early and nearly unanimous tradition states that Mark’s Gospel itself is actually a summary of the account of our Lord’s life that Mark learned from Peter before the Apostle’s martyrdom in Rome. Scholars have pointed out that Peter’s sermon in Acts 10:34-43 provides a strikingly precise outline of Mark’s Gospel. [And in it, Peter says that Jesus “commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” ]
Mark’s [Gospel] is the shortest of the four canonical Gospels and the fastest paced (‘immediately’ is its watchword). It provides a beautiful picture of Christ as the conquering King, who battles and drives out the enemies of the human race (the demons) just as Joshua drove out the inhabitants of Canaan, a battle that culminates at the cross. The symbol associated with St. Mark is the lion, king of the beasts. Mark’s Gospel contains some teaching sections from our Lord, but it is overwhelmingly a fast-paced action account, right up to the disproportionately long narrative of the Lord’s passion. In fact, it has been called a Passion narrative with a preface.
Mark is said to have finished his service to Christ by serving as bishop in the great city of Alexandria in Egypt, ultimately dying there a martyr’s death.”
When we think of Mark and his mission and ministry work – to include the writing of his Gospel, we can echo the prophet Isaiah and say, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation …” If the Gospel is to have any benefit it needs to be enthusiastically and resolutely proclaimed. And St. Mark did just that!
And so, today’s Gospel reading from Mark is about what we celebrate a few weeks from now, namely the Ascension of Christ. And more, Jesus, gives the Church her mission – her true purpose in this world. A purpose to which you and I are called as we await Christ’s final appearing.
In his abrupt style, Mark shares that Jesus appears to the eleven Apostles as they reclined at table and “He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw Him after He had risen.” Here, the twelve, minus Judas were gathered and seemingly unmindful – oblivious – as to the monumental events around and in the wake of Jesus’ resurrection. And Jesus is chiding them for their lack of true faith. He reprimands them for their hard-heartedness. They need to grasp the gravity of the situation so they will be ready to move into the service to which Jesus calls them.
After succinctly scolding them, He says, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
What Jesus had done in His life, death, and resurrection – the Good News of what He had done for our salvation was to be spread far and wide. This was a treasure – not to be kept in a box but shared, with some urgency, with everyone – with all of creation.
“Christ preached to the people on the sea, in the desert, in the fields and houses, in synagogues, in villages and on the streets, and taught His disciples… And these [disciples], going forth, preached everywhere, that is, in every place where the people were willing to listen, God working with them”
“The late Sam Shoemaker, an Episcopalian bishop, summed up [today’s Gospel sharing] situation this way: ‘In the Great Commission, the Lord has called us to be – like Peter – fishers of men. We’ve turned the commission around so that we have become merely keepers of the aquarium. Occasionally [our church] will take some fish out of [another church’s] fishbowl and put them into [ours], and [other churches] do the same with [our] bowl. But we’re all tending the same fish.’”
In contrast, “Jesus commissions His followers to proclaim the message of salvation throughout the world. Only through faith in Jesus Christ can anyone be saved. The Gospel invitation is open to all [and our heavenly Father] “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Paul opines in his letter to the Christians in Rome, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”
“Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. ‘Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?’ he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. ‘I have no right to keep that to myself,’ he exclaimed. ‘It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it.’”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a treasure beyond any worth or wealth this world might offer. St. Mark knew this and in the wake of Jesus’ resurrection, he shared this treasure all over the place. We, beloved, have been given the instrument which plays the song of salvation for all who believe. We as the body of Christ – right here at Redeemer in Charleston, West Virginia then pick up this instrument and ‘take it into the world and let people hear it!’ Amen. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”