The Feast of St. Mark

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine."

St. Mark was an evangelist, one of the four authors of the euangelion, the Good News of Jesus Christ, chosen by God to fulfill the high and lofty office of giving the Gospel to the world for the salvation of all because God desires not the death of a sinner but that he might turn from his wickedness and live. History only provides a little content about Mark, but we can be certain of one thing: for him, Jesus was central; he was everything. We know that Mark was discipled by St. Peter, sat under his teaching, and was nurtured in the faith by the apostle's gentle and wise hand, and yet Mark wasn't compelled to write Peter's biography or to share the good news about Peter.

The good news about Jesus is that in Him, God was and is reconciling the world to himself through the beloved Son sent to die for the sins of the world to bring many daughters and sons into the eternal Kingdom of eternal Life.In John's Gospel, Jesus says to his Apostles, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you." This Word which Jesus has spoken, first to the Apostles and now to us, is the True Truth of which I speak, the truth to which the evangelists testify and proclaim: the Word of Life given for the life of the world. Truth isn't an abstract idea; it is a person; it is Jesus Christ, the living Son of God.

Beloved, everyone and anyone who listens and believes this truth belongs to the one who is truth. And this word, this True Truth, is the only thing that makes us clean. To be washed in the word is to be cleansed from all sin and righteousness. This is why personal faith in Christ expresses itself in the sacrament of holy baptism. Divine truth is the person of Jesus Christ, and it is by exercising faith in him that we are washed of sin and guilt and born again into the family of God. And yet, rebirth is not the terminus of salvation but merely the beginning, like newborn babes with a whole life before us. To grow in stature and mature into our baptism, we must abide or remain in this word: we must remain in True Truth; we must remain in Jesus Christ.

"As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." Without Christ, without the word, without truth, we can do nothing. "Well, that's not true, Fr. Michael; people who don't believe accomplish all sorts of things, even great things!" Yes, but to what end? How many people toil and spin for the things of this world without any thought of heaven. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul?" Like Lewis' fool, we mess "about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

The greatest work a man or woman can do in this life, no matter their age or status, is to do the grace-given work of believing, the work of faith. Jesus said, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent." In other words, to believe in True Truth; to hold fast, grasp tightly to, and abide in the truth; to abide in Christ. And in abiding friends, you will have life, encounter joy, and remain steadfast in hope. Jesus says, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Ponder in your hearts, search your souls: "What do you need Jesus to do for you today?" What do you want from him?

I stand before you and tell you: Jesus will give you all things. The one who moved heaven and earth to bring you from death to life will give you all things; he is gracious and trustworthy. All things- that is- of true and lasting value. Because Jesus gives what truly matters, that which is so desperately necessary for us, and we know this due in great part to St. Mark, who dutifully wrote and gave the gift of Truth to the World: the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Beloved, I pray that you and I will, by God’s grace, established in this truth "no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." We must guard our hearts from falling into deceit and keep false shepherds at bay. This was true in the time of the Apostles and is true today. We need to not remain static in the spiritual life of faith but mature in it, moving from milk to solid food.

We, our children, and grandchildren must be continually catechized and taught by Holy mother church. We need to know the Lord, and we need to know his revealed word in Holy Scripture; we need to know the Bible. We have to grow in the knowledge of the truth, not merely for intellectual ascent, but for growth in holiness: for the truth to set us free from our inordinate love of sin. For sin frustrates fruitful abiding; it impedes union with God. The sinful man is a tree that isn't planted near streams of living water that doesn't bear fruit but is as the chaff blown in the wind.

You see, right thinking leads to the right action; these are never divorced, though we live in a time when people are happy to divorce the two. The truth is that we do what we love, we pray what we believe, and we walk after what we desire. Truth leads to life, to health, to eternity. False doctrine and lies lead away from life and into death. And the Word of God, True Truth, has been deposited and given to the Church. Remember, the Church existed before the scriptures, not the other way around.

This is why the Church is the defender and guardian of Divine revelation, and the scriptures have been given for salvation and growth toward heaven. And our Mother feeds and nurtures her children with the word revealed in Holy Scripture, preached, and made manifest in the sacrament of Holy Communion. True truth resides in the Church of God wherever the scriptures are rightly expounded and the sacraments rightly administered. The truth imparted to the Apostles is the bedrock and foundation of the Church, and may it always be so in our branch of Christ's one, holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church" even in this little parish.

Jesus said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." Here is the greatest argument for abiding in truth: love. To remain in the love of God, the love experienced and shared between the Father and the Son. To remain in truth is to participate in the Divine Love, to be in Christ. Surely there is nothing sweeter, more wonderful, or more beautiful than to enjoy the love of God in our lives. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you" (Jer 31:3). God abides forever; he is faithful. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

But we don't abide perfectly. We have to will after God and direct our whole being towards him. Because we are prone to wander, prone to love lesser things. But God remains; his love remains. So when you find yourself in that far country, remember that God abides; he waits for you, standing, gazing at the horizon, with open arms to receive any and all who return to the truth. Remember, the truth is mercy, forgiveness, and long-suffering.This is the word spoken to you, in which you believed and were thereby made clean. The word that abides in you and that we must remain in. So, just as St. Mark, the evangelist, let us know the truth, be established in it, proclaim and live in it for the good of our souls and the salvation of the world.

Let us pray, O ALMIGHTY God, who hast instructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy Evangelist Saint Mark; Give us grace, that, being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the Truth of thy holy Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen+