STAYING NOT STRAYING
A Homily for the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist
The Rev. Marq Toombs+ Curate
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The Collect. 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 by every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of Thy Holy Gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Epistle. Ephesians 4:7-16; The Gospel. John 15:1-11
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Consider two questions that are similar yet different:
Where do you live?
Where do you stay?
Depending on where you’re from, which side of town you live in, those questions can be heard and understood in different ways — they can take on different meanings.
Where do you live? is more generic. It could refer to which neighborhood, town, city, state, or country you live in. It could also mean ‘what’s your address?’
Where do you stay? is more specific. It refers to where you reside, eat and sleep, dwell.
In light of the Propers for the Feast of St Mark* — the Collect, the Epistle, and the Gospel — ‘where do you stay?’ is the better and more relevant question.
So, let me ask you: Where do you stay?
As we will see in Saint Mark’s story, staying is better than straying.
When we first meet Mark, he is staying at his mother Mary’s house (Acts 12:12). And he is participating in a prayer service. Turns out Mark grew up in the faith and experienced the gospel and the gifts of God in the church.
Soon after that, Mark sets out on a missionary journey with his Bishops Paul and Barnabas (Acts 12:25). This is all very exciting for that young man until they run into real trouble. Then Mark realizes that preaching the gospel in that world at that time could be dangerous and life-threatening. All of sudden, Mark turns back and abandons Paul and Barnabas.
Later, when we see Mark, he is in the middle of a controversy that his straying has sparked. A sharp dispute erupts between Paul and Barnabas over Mark because he deserted them in their time of need (Acts 13:13). They are prepping for their next missionary journey. Barnabas wants to take Mark, but Paul says, ‘No way! He’s untrustworthy. Who knows if he will ditch us again? We don’t know if he will stay with us or stray from us.’ The dispute is so heated that Paul and Barnabas decide not to work together on that mission (Acts 15:36-40). So, Mark’s unwillingness and inability to stay has generated problems for himself and troubles his ministers and the mission of the gospel.
Finally, when we see Mark again the story, many things have changed in him. Under Barnabas’s tutelage and training, Mark has grown up. He has matured and stabilized since we first met him as a ‘young, restless, and semi-Reformed’ apprentice. The grace of the Spirit, the word, minister, and the Church, all worked to help Mark to stay not stray.
As a result, Saint Paul requests for Mark to be sent to him, because Mark is useful for the ministry (2 Timothy 4). And Saint Peter calls Mark his son (in the faith) — and he even shares Mark’s greetings as a companion in the ministry (1 Peter 5).
All that to say: Mark learned by encouragements and experience that staying is better than straying.
So, we can see the truth in Mark’s story: when a person settles into life — and stays not strays — things begin to change for the better.
Staying is better than straying.
This is the same point made in the Collect: that we may be established in the truth, not carried away with every blast of vain doctrine — or every new gimmick, innovative trend, or wave of silliness.
This is the same point made in the Epistle: that we may be so united to Christ and his faith and love that our unity leads us to integrity and maturity of life.
This is the same point made in the Gospel: that we may abide in Christ, and cling to the vine as living branches, and stay in his love — and not stray from his life.
Stay in his love is the only thing Jesus commands us in this story. Abide in my love.
Staying is better than straying.
Stay in his love — not like Judas Iscariot, a branch that loved money and things more than Jesus; a branch that betrayed his friend and sold out his Savior for chump change, because of his refusal to stay in the love of Jesus Christ.
Stay in his love — not like Simon Peter, a branch that loved himself and his security more than his Savior; a branch that denied his Lord in the interest of self-preservation.
Staying in Christ is better than straying from him.
But in case anyone does stray, is there a way back? Yes! The way back is found in repentance, not regret.
Judas regretted his straying, but his worldly sorrow led him to death. He ended his own life because of his refusal to stay in the love of Jesus Christ.
Peter repented of his straying, and his godly sorrow led him to life. He returned to Jesus, stayed in his love, and amended his life.
Thus, one branch lived and bore lasting fruit, but the other did not.
Like his father, Saint Peter, Saint Mark the Evangelist repented and reordered his life and loves. He learned by experience — and shows us by his example — that staying in Christ is better than straying from him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, in life or in death. He learned to stay not stray; to sink roots, and grow up, and bear fruit.
Tradition tells us that Saint Mark sank his roots in the city of Alexandria and the surrounding areas. He grew up in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. He bore much fruit with the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.
Late in the 1st century, on Easter, April 25th, the once young and restless apprentice — but now an older, wiser, and based minister — was taken by force from the altar, dragged out of the church, dragged through the streets of the city, over rough cliffs, up to the prison, to suffer through the night. The same tortures were repeated the next day until his soul departed to stay with the Risen Lord Jesus in heavenly realms. (Based on J.H. Blunt)
Staying in Christ is better than straying from him.
Where do you stay?
God grant you the grace to always stay with Jesus and never stray from him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
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* Note: Whether the (John) Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles is the same Mark mentioned in 2 Timothy and 1 Peter — and the same Mark that authored the Gospel — is open for discussion. A good case can be made for a different view than the one represented in this homily.
