Commentary
Saturday, 4/25/2020, Feast of St. Mark the Apostle
Mark Sends Peter’s Message—God’s Message
First Reading Commentary: 1 Peter 5:5b-14
As Jesus sent the Apostles, Peter who, was the first pope appointed by Jesus Himself, also sent the Apostles. The Apostles were also the first Presbyters—elected officials of the Church.
In chapter 5 of his first letter, Peter sends a message to the Christians in Asia Minor and in his letter, he says that Mark is also sending this message. It is a message which was given to the Apostles many times by Jesus. It was a message of humility, faith and a promise of eternal salvation. And at the end of his message, Peter wrote, “Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”
Peter paraphrased Proverbs 3:34 by writing, “God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.” One of the last lessons that Jesus gave the disciples was in humility and service to others when He washed their feet at the Last Supper. In his letter, Peter tells the people to be humble.
Two simple words: be humble. Not an easy task. We all want recognition for our achievements. We all want to be held in high regard. We all want to know that we matter. The fact is that we do matter; each one of us in his or her own way because each of us is a part of the Mystical Body. But that is not what is on our minds when we want others to know that we matter.
We wear certain styles to impress. We drive the cars that we drive not just because we like the car but all to often, because we want to make a statement. Some of us live where we live not because we can afford to but because we want everyone else to know that we can afford to. I could go on and on with the things that we do to show our pride.
Sometimes, pride is a good thing. For example, a parent who is proud of a child’s achievement has every right to be and should be. The problem is that sometimes that pride is overstated to the point where the parent believes that their child is better than all the other children. Jesus showed His distain for that kind of pride when the mother of the two sons of Zebedee wanted Jesus to promise that her sons would sit at the right and left of Jesus in heaven. Matthew 20:21
Ask yourself a question: How strong is my faith in God if I believe that I am above others instead of being humble? Consider this: If one believes that they are better than others, that person cannot obey the second part of the Greatest Commandment. One cannot love their neighbor as they love themselves if they believe that they are better than others. It simply does not work.
If that is true, one cannot be encouraged to follow Peter’s directive to remain steadfast in faith in resisting the evil one. That is because pride is a deadly sin and that sin is encouraged by the evil one. With that in mind, we must stop and ask ourselves this question: Do I know how to control my pride so that it does not become a deadly sin for me? Better yet, do I control my pride or do I look down on others?
Be honest. When we see that homeless person on the street begging for money, do we feel that person’s pain knowing that if it not be for the grace of God; that person could be us? Do we then take a moment to thank God for the grace of keeping us off of the street and then pray for the homeless? That is faith and humility. Or, do we look down on that person? That is the deadly sin of pride. Without humility rooted in faith, we cannot reap the rewards of the Lord’s eternal promise.
Peter reminded the people of the Lord’s eternal promise and wrote, “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.”
In other words, this world is not perfect and we are not perfect and therefore, things will not always go the way we want them to go. As a result; we will suffer. Consider this: The Garden of Eden was perfect in every way. We live in the world that we do not because God did not make it perfect but because our sins make the world imperfect.
That is why we need salvation. Our Savior had to be perfect in order to destroy all that is not perfect. That is why only God could save us. Because God loves us enough to save us, in the person of the Son, He was more than willing to do so. And so, as Peter said, “To him be dominion forever. Amen.”
When God Has Our Backs, We Simply Cannot Fail
Gospel Commentary: Mark 16:15-20
The Ascension of the Lord into heaven, the Second Glorious Mystery of the Rosary, is accounted for in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as well as the Gospel of Mark which, we hear today.
Luke tells us that when Jesus appeared to the Apostles in Jerusalem, He referred to Scripture and told them that He would suffer and rise on the third day and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:46-47 In Matthew’s Gospel, when the Apostles were commissioned just before the Ascension, Jesus commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
It is the last will and testament of Jesus that the Apostles go out and preach the Good News of the Gospel to all people and to baptize them. The executor of an estate is responsible for carrying out the last will and testament and Jesus appointed the Apostles to be His executors. But there are three big differences between the Apostles and the executor of an estate. These differences are the promises that Jesus made.
First, Jesus told the Apostles to stay in the city, that the promise of the Father would come upon them and that they would be clothed with power from on high. Luke 24:49 Jesus was promising the Holy Spirit who would come upon the Apostles ten days later on Pentecost Sunday and Jesus was reassuring the Apostles that with the Holy Spirit, they would have the power to build and grow the Church.
Second, Jesus promised to be with the Apostles always. Matthew 28:20 It was like Jesus was telling the Apostles, “Don’t worry. I got you!” In John 15:9-17, we heard Jesus tell the Apostles that He was their friend but here, Jesus was telling the Apostles that He was their best friend and the only friend that they could count on always.
Third, in Mark’s gospel, Jesus promised that if they believed, they would be accompanied by signs—the Apostles would be able to drive out demons, speak in tongues, pick up serpents with their bare hands and be able to drink deadly things without harm.
When there is a difficult task in front of us, we often times look for support. Sometimes we need a helping hand and/or positive encouragement. It is good to know that someone is on our side who wants to see us succeed at whatever we are attempting to do or overcome whatever challenge there is before us.
All too often, we are afraid to ask for help or our pride will not allow us to ask for help. But Jesus knew that His Apostles were not afraid or too proud to ask. Yet, they were afraid of what was going on around them with the non-believers seeking to persecute them and they did not know just what to do.
But Jesus came to the rescue as He always does. He told them what to do, how to do it and not to worry because they could not fail as long as they believed. It was impossible for them to fail because the power of God and the Spirit of God was with them. There is no one on earth who can be there for us like God. No matter how well intentioned and no matter how hard they try, no one can advise us, show us the way and protect us like God can. When God has our backs, we simply cannot fail. We can only succeed and that is exactly what happened with the Apostles as they proclaimed the Good News of the Gospel. That’s why when we are in trouble facing difficult times, we should just take it to Jesus and put it in His hands. He will take care of it.
