20160425 SECOND CHANCE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 Peter 5:5-14 ©
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All wrap yourselves
in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and
will always favour the humble. Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and
he will raise you up on the appointed day; unload all your worries on to him, since
he is looking after you. Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is
prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to
him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world
are suffering the same things. You will have to suffer only for a little while:
the 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. His power lasts
for ever and ever. Amen.
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.
Greet one
another with a kiss of love.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
88:2-3,6-7,16-17 ©
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I will sing for
ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will sing for ever
of your love, O Lord;
through
all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure,
that your love lasts for ever,
that your
truth is firmly established as the heavens.
I will sing for
ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim
your wonders, O Lord;
the
assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.
For who in the skies
can compare with the Lord
or who is
like the Lord among the sons of God?
I will sing for
ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Happy the people who
acclaim such a king,
who walk,
O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy
every day in your name,
who make
your justice the source of their bliss.
I will sing for
ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1Co1:23-24
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Alleluia, alleluia!
We are preaching a
crucified Christ,
who is the power and
the wisdom of God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 16:15-20 ©
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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.
SECOND
CHANCE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 1 Pt 5:5-14;
Ps 88:2-3, 6-7, 16-17; Mk 16:15-20 ]
From
the Acts of the Apostles, we read how Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas half
way on the first missionary trip. After finishing their mission on
the island of Cyprus, preaching at both Salamis and Paphos, Mark decided to
return to Jerusalem. “Then Paul and his companions set sail from
Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to
Jerusalem; but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in
Pisidia.” (Acts 13:13f)
We are not too sure exactly the reasons why Mark did not continue with the
journey to Pamphylia. It could be because he was unable to take the
swampy ground of Perga or the rugged terrain at Antioch in Pisidia. It
could also be because he missed home as he was still a young man.
Perhaps, he could be resentful that Barnabas allowed Paul to take the lead when
it was Barnabas who called Paul to help him. Whatever the reasons, Paul
lost complete confidence in him. So much so, that when Barnabas wanted to
take Mark with him on the second missionary journey, Paul refused to let him
come along. “The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company;
Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose
Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the
Lord.” (Acts 15:39f)
When we consider how God
works in our lives, we cannot but be grateful that God always gives us a second
chance. God does
not rule us out completely even when we are condemned in the eyes of the
world. Paul, before his conversion, was an enemy of the faith but
Barnabas managed to rehabilitate him and welcome him to the Christian
community. He became the greatest apostle to the Gentiles. So, too,
was Mark. He was young then. He was a coward in many ways. We
read in the gospel that he wrote, how he ran away when Jesus was arrested.
Scholars believed that the following verse referred to Mark himself. “A
certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They
caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.”
(Mk 14:51f)
St Peter himself was
also given a second chance. He denied the Lord three times. Like Mark, he
too was a coward because he dared not even acknowledge Jesus before a servant
girl. (cf Mk 14:77-72)
But the Lord gave him a chance to redeem himself after the resurrection. (cf John 21:15-19)
In many ways, St Peter was like Mark. Peter was a bit gung-ho in the way
he thought of himself. He was so sure of himself many times. Like
when he was walking on the waters (cf Mt 14:29-33) or when he
told Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Mk 14:31)
Peter must have learned his lessons after eating humble pie a few times.
This perhaps also
explained his special affection for Mark because he sees himself in Mark.
He calls Mark his dear son. Legend also had it that Peter, who married a
relative of Mark’s father, took it upon himself to take care of Mark when his
father died. At this point of time, Mark was assisting Peter when he was
in prison. Most likely, he was helping St Peter in recording his stories,
testimonies and teachings as he was more educated and most of all, he could
speak Greek, being a Greek-speaking Jew. This accounts for his two names,
John Mark. John was his Jewish name and Mark was his Greek
name. So Mark was tremendously useful to St Peter who could most
likely only speak Aramaic. He must have taken a liking to Mark because he
could identify with him so closely.
In the first reading, it
gives the impression that he was seeking to encourage Mark who once too was
afraid of the future and of his life and thus deserted Paul in his missionary
journey. As if
advising Mark, he wrote, “God refuses the proud and will always favour the
humble. Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up
on the appointed day; unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking
after you.” Peter was reminded to be humble and not be so cocky and
confident of himself through his mistakes. So too, perhaps Peter was
advising Mark not to think too highly of himself. Instead, with humility,
he advised the Christians to trust in the Lord instead and cast all their
anxieties unto Him.
Mark seems to take his
advice well to heart. He was not only a great assistant to Peter but
later on for Paul as well,
who was reconciled with him. Paul wrote, “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner
greets you, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have
received instructions – if he comes to you, welcome him.” (Col 4:10) Later on,
Paul even asked Mark to help him. In his letter to Timothy written in
prison in Rome, he instructed, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is
useful in my ministry.” (2 Tim 4:11) Indeed,
by then Mark must have become more mature in faith and in
character. By then, he was a changed man, grown up and regained his
confidence and courage to be a true witness of Christ.
He became an evangelist
and went to spread the gospel as far as Alexandria in Egypt. Indeed, today’s gospel reading
which invites us to spread the gospel to all the nations was taken seriously by
Mark. He sought to spread the gospel according to the talents the Lord
had given him. Today the Coptic Church takes pride in establishing their
apostolicity by tracing their church to St Mark, one of the 70 disciples of
Christ. He was eventually martyred. But he was no longer afraid to
die for Christ because the words of St Peter reminded him. “Stand up to
him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world
are suffering the same things. You will have to suffer only for a little while:
The 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. His power lasts
for ever and ever.”
As we celebrate the
feast of St Mark, we too must learn patience with those who are young or slow
to learn. We
must never give up on the young especially, and those whom we think have failed
us. Like St Peter and Barnabas and later Paul, we must give those who
were weak a second chance. With encouragement, love and understanding,
they can become great leaders and apostles for Christ. Like St
Mark, let us proclaim the gospel to all the nations, knowing that the Lord is
working with us and “confirming the word by the signs that accompanied
it.” It is never too late to change and redeem ourselves. So long
as we do not give up on ourselves, the grace of God can change us. We
must surrender all our shortcomings to the Lord and He will give us the grace
to be courageous and faithful to our vocation in life.
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