1 Peter 5:5-14 / Mark 16:15-20 (2024)
St Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel according to Mark, and he is closely identified as (John) Mark that we heard about in the 1st reading, who was a disciple of St. Peter.
St. Mark is also closely identified as the cousin of Barnabas, who together with St. Paul were great missionaries in the Acts of the Apostles.
So St. Mark had connection with big names in the New Testament, but that was not why he became a big name in the Bible.
He was greatly involved in the missionary work of the early Church and he founded the Church in Alexandria.
He may have been recognized for his gift of writing and being a disciple of St. Peter, he wrote the gospel through the reflections and teaching of St. Peter.
So St. Mark was a missionary and a writer and he was also involved in the work of the early Church.
He may have discovered these gifts gradually but he knew what these gifts were for.
As the 1st reading says: Wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour the humble.
So in spite of being associated with big names in the Church and bestowed with gifts, St. Mark remained a humble servant of the Church.
So let us learn from St. Mark to be humble servants of God and to humble servants to each other.
That is the first requisite for the proclamation of the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.