Daily Lesson for April 25, 2018

Today’s Daily Lesson is in recognition of the Feast of St Mark:

And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, bringing with them John whose other name was Mark. (Acts 12:25)

And Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. (Acts 15:37-40)

9 Do your best to come to me soon,10for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. (2 Timothy 4:9-11)

Today is the Feast Day of St Mark in the life of the church. Mark, also called John, accompanied Paul and Barnabas during a very important season of mission in the early church. Controversy surrounded Mark as he apparently deserted the mission at a critical time. This later led to conflict between Paul and Barnabas over Mark’s role. Barnabas, who by some early Christian accounts may have been related to Mark, wanted to welcome him to accompany Barnabas and Paul on yet another missionary journey. Paul refused, resulting in a split between the two early Christian leaders. Interestingly, however, in one of the later his letters, dated far after the missionary journeys, Paul wrote requesting Mark be sent to come to assist Paul in his latter days. “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry,” (2Timothy 4:11)

Mark indeed became very useful. In his own later life, Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark — the narrative from which most scholars believe the other synoptic Gospel books — Matthew and Luke — got the bones of their stories about Jesus’ ministry. 

An intriguing episode is found in the pages of the book of Mark. In the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane a young, unnamed man is with Jesus and the disciples. When the soldiers come to arrest Jesus they try to apprehend the young man also, taking hold of his linen cloth. The young man leaves the linen cloth behind, running away from the Garden entirely naked. Speculation persists that this was a creative device Mark used in his Gospel to refer to himself. Mark was alluding to his own actions in the face of danger. By including himself in the story with the other disciples who fled after the Garden incident Mark was admitting his own fear and perhaps the reason why he left Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey.

Mark is a testament to God’s redemptive ways. Though he apparently deserted the mission at a very critical moment, his later work became one of the central early biographies of Jesus.  The Gospel of Mark became perhaps the most influential New Testament book.

“Send for Mark, for he is useful to me,” Paul said. And so did Jesus. 

And how good it is to know that even after our own Gethsemanes Christ can still find us useful.