A 'Go' that binds

THE WORD AND THE SAINT 

April 25, 2020: Celebrating Mark the Evangelist

1 Peter 5:5-14; Mark 16:15-20

Certainly the words of St. Peter in the first reading will speak immediately to the situation today: you will have to suffer only for a little while: God of all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ will see that all is well again; he will confirm, strengthen and support you (5:10). A message of hope! But that is not the crux of what we celebrate today; it is Mark, the evangelist. 

Mark comes out as a dedicated young man convinced of his call and enduring in his response. The apostles and disciples were extremely different from each other in their calibre and character. But what bound them together was the 'Go' that they received from the Lord. It was the commission from the Master that kept them  going. We see generations of them following each other in responding whole heartedly to the project entrusted. 

To Go, meant to go to the unknown lands, to meet unknown people, to get into unknown territories, to get out of one's comfort zones. This is exactly what the Holy Father keeps insisting - a Church that is on its move, a Church what has hearkened to the command of its Head, a Church that is continuously trying to make newer sense of this world and of living life to the full. 

Mark becomes the representative of the generation that immediately followed the 12 and Mark leaves indelible trails by his commitment and dedication. He was the first one to record a written account as a Gospel, say the researchers and he did this mostly from the teachings and sermons of Peter, the elder brother among the apostles. 

The call is to the young today: can you dedicate yourself to the commission from the Lord... to Go!

Gamaliel and the Miracle of Multiplication

WORD 2day: Friday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 24, 2020: Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15

Gamaliel proved a true God-fearing man and his words become a miracle. Try and notice the beautiful connection made in the Liturgy of the Word today: there is the multiplication of the loaves reported in the Gospel but we see that unfolding in reality in the Acts, in the form of the multiplication of the Christians. From a mere handful, the people of the Way begin to grow in leaps and bounds. 

More than the miracle itself, what led to the miracle claims our attention here. The miracle happened because of the following three reasons:

- the Apostles and the band kept God and God's Word above everything else, even above their own lives. They were ready even to lay down their lives, instead of giving up on proclaiming the Word. They openly declared they would obey God, even if that meant their lives!

- the Apostles and the people considered it God's mission and not their own enterprise; they gave the entire credit to God. This is what is proved by Gamaliel's statement. If it were their own making and their own plan, it would have crumbled in  no time. It was God's plan and they persons involved recognised it and readily accepted it, the consequence being the great fruits they saw in such a short time.

- the Apostles had no other hidden agenda, for instance their own glory, making a living, or creating a following for themselves. They surrendered themselves totally to the Lord and they were multiplied, multiplied far beyond their own expectations. 

God's Word, God's plan and God's glory - these are the sources of invincible strength that one can have in life... and a Christian with these is indeed a great witness unto the Lord.