7th century illustration of the evangelist Mark
and his symbol, from The British Library
Mark
7th century illustration of the evangelist Mark
and his symbol, from The
British Library
by Paul Turner
Mark is the Gospel featured at Mass in Year B of the three-year cycle of Sunday readings. Notable exceptions occur during Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and across five weeks in summer, when we hear the Bread of Life discourse from John. Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels.
Mark was probably the first Gospel written. Parts of it appear in both Matthew and Luke, who also used other materials that do not appear in Mark. Because Mark included Jesus' saying about the destruction of the Temple, a prediction fulfilled in the year 70, the date of composition is thought to be around then.
This Gospel never identifies its own author. An early tradition gave him the name Mark, a companion of Peter in Rome. Although the work may have been written in Rome by someone who heard the stories of Jesus (already being circulated), the name of its author is uncertain. The Gospel author writes with a sense of urgency. The audience who first received the book was probably a community of gentile Christians, which would account for the author's frequent explanation of Jewish customs and Aramaic words.
Mark's main point is to proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God. We hear the proclamation in the opening verse and again near the end, from the centurion at the cross. In the middle of the Gospel stands Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah.
In the second half of the Gospel, Jesus predicts his passion, death, and resurrection three times. The earliest version of Mark ended with the news of the resurrection but without stories of Jesus' appearances. Accounts of those events were later appended to Mark's conclusion. Mark does not relate the story of Jesus' birth. Mark is frequently symbolized as a lion, calling to mind the desert scene which opens his story.
This bulletin insert originally appeared in MINISTRY & LITURGY, a pastoral planning resource used by the worship leaders in your parish as an aid for better liturgy. Copyright © 2000 Resource Publications, Inc., 160 E. Virginia St. #290, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505. Paul Turner, pastor of St. John Regis Parish in Kansas City, Mo., holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University in Rome. Comment online at www.rpinet.com/wwwboard/forum8/.
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