Mark the gospel of Mark!

Mark 16:15-20

Jesus showed himself to the Eleven, and said to them: ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’ And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

Food for thought!

Today, we want to focus our Food for thought on Mark, the Evangelist.  We celebrate his feast today.  As we know, Mark was not among the twelve apostles of Jesus. Probably, he did not know Jesus face to face. Where then did Mark get his information? What is so special about Mark's Gospel? What does Mark tell us about Jesus? What is Mark's style? What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Mark?

Well, we know that the value of any man's story will always depend on the sources of his information. Where, then, did Mark get his information about the life and work of Jesus? Today's first reading gives us a clue. It is from the First Letter of St. Peter. It says,

"I write these few words to you through Silvanus, who is a brother I know I can trust, to encourage you never to let go this true grace of God to which I bear witness. Your sister in Babylon, who is with you among the chosen, sends you greetings; so does my son, Mark."

This means that Mark was a companion of Peter, not of Jesus. Mark's gospel is, therefore, nothing other than a record of the preaching material of Peter. Certainly Mark stood so close to Peter, and so near to his heart, that Peter could call him "Mark, my son." (1Pet.5:13.) One ancient writer, Papias, says: "Mark, who was Peter's interpreter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, all that he recollected of what Christ had said or done. For he was not a hearer of the Lord or a follower of his. He followed Peter."

We may then take it that in his gospel we have what Mark remembered of the preaching material of Peter himself. And that is what makes Mark's gospel special: first, it is the earliest of all the gospels; if it was written from Peter's preaching, its date will be about A.D. 65. Second, it embodies the record of what Peter preached and taught about Jesus; we may put it this way, Mark is the nearest approach we will ever possess to an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus. It is the nearest thing we will ever get to a report of Jesus' life. All the other gospels were written after Mark's gospel.

This is another proof that Jesus needs us all. He used Mark, who was never an apostles. This is why Mark himself quotes Jesus, "Go out into the real world and witness to Jesus." Whoever you are, wherever you are, you can and should witness for Jesus, like Mark did. Just be genuine, be yourself, be Christian.