April 30, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Saint Mark the Evangelist

Last Friday, April 25, was the Feast of Saint Mark; but because the Easter Octave (the first eight days of Easter) takes precedence over any other feasts, his feast day was transferred to this past Monday.

As with many biblical characters, there isn’t a lot of information about Mark.  There are several places in the New Testament where the name Mark appears, but it is unclear if these refer to the same person or several persons.

Church traditions hold that he was one of the seventy sent out by Jesus, was present at the wedding in Cana, served with Paul on his mission trips, was a cousin of Barnabas, that it was at his house where both the resurrected Christ appeared to the disciples and where the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost, and that the gospel bearing his name was a result of him writing down the stories and sermons of Peter.

As we move through the Easter season and reflect on the various resurrection stories, I’m sure we all have our favorite (or favorites).  Maybe the Road to Emmaus story touches you.  Maybe you find the story of Mary Magdalene searching for Jesus in the garden to be pivotal.  Or maybe it’s not just one story but the overall whole where you find inspiration.

I’ve always appreciated the ending of the Gospel of Mark:  “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (16:8).  This ending was so unsatisfactory to many early Christians that, at some point, scribes added both a shorter and longer ending to tie up loose ends.

What this original ending says to me (and to all who read it, I think) is that the story of the resurrection doesn’t end with the women fleeing the tomb.  Unlike the other three gospels where there is a definitive end, Mark leaves his gospel open-ended, causing us to ask:  Will we be as afraid as the women, saying nothing to anyone; or will we have the courage to speak of the resurrection?

As we move through the Easter season, may we all have the courage to speak openly of the Lord of life who destroyed sin and death and calls us to live in abundant, radical love.

Blessings,