Feast of St. Mark, evangelist
If you were asked to make a list of contemporary heroes, whom would you choose? I would suggest our own first responders. They know what to do when called upon. They are people with a mission.
Rewinding to the early Church, I suggest that St. Mark the Evangelist, today’s feast day, should be called a first responder in his day. He was probably the first evangelist to capture in writing all the excitement surrounding the person and the memory of the person of Jesus. Although writing in Rome around 70 AD, St. Mark uses his own style and sources to respond to the missionary commission of Jesus before his ascension.
People needed to hear the Good News: Jesus was indeed the Son of God and the Redeemer. Mark, inspired by the Spirit of the Risen Lord, jumped into the challenge of describing how Jesus, fully human and fully divine, came among the people to teach and heal the weak and to challenge the strong. Mark showed Jesus responding to ordinary people with a compassion that drew them into his love for them and his love for his Father. Mark wrote with powerful brevity and was not shy about showing how the apostles had to struggle to appreciate the meaning of their moment with Jesus.
We cannot let this feast day pass without examining our willingness to respond with faith in a crisis. Do we stand around, wring our hands, and watch, or do we bring Jesus to take action?
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections