SPEAKER_00: Today the church celebrates the feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist.
SPEAKER_00: There's something striking about Saint Mark.
SPEAKER_00: He's not the most famous, he's not the most prominent, he's not the one who preached at Pentecost or wrote long theological letters.
SPEAKER_00: And yet, without him, we would not have the gospel as we know it.
SPEAKER_00: Mark's story is not a straight line.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it begins with failure.
SPEAKER_00: At one point in the early church, Mark abandons the mission.
SPEAKER_00: He leaves Paul and Barnabas in the middle of their work.
SPEAKER_00: And it causes such a sharp disagreement that Paul refuses to take him again.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine that.
SPEAKER_00: A man who would one day write the gospel once walked away from the mission.
SPEAKER_00: And yet that's not the end of his story.
SPEAKER_00: Because later we see something different.
SPEAKER_00: In the reading today, Saint Peter writes, Mark, my son.
SPEAKER_00: That's not just a title, that's a relationship.
SPEAKER_00: Mark becomes a spiritual son to Peter.
SPEAKER_00: He walks with him, he learns from him, he listens.
SPEAKER_00: And from that closeness, from that lived experience of Christ through Peter, he writes the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what makes Mark unique.
SPEAKER_00: There's no long introduction, no extended genealogy, no drawn-out discourse.
SPEAKER_00: It's movement, action, mission.
SPEAKER_00: Because Mark understood something.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel is not meant to be admired, it's meant to be proclaimed.
SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what we hear in the gospel today.
SPEAKER_00: Go, go into the whole world and to proclaim the gospel to every creature.
SPEAKER_00: Not don't wait.
SPEAKER_00: Don't not prepare forever or make sure everything is perfect before you go.
SPEAKER_00: No, go right now.
SPEAKER_00: There's urgency in his voice.
SPEAKER_00: That command is not just for the apostles, it is for the church and it is for you.
SPEAKER_00: But here's where it gets real for us.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Peter in the first reading gives us the interior life required for that mission.
SPEAKER_00: He says, clothe yourselves with humility.
SPEAKER_00: Because pride kills mission.
SPEAKER_00: Pride makes it about you, your image, your ego, your comfort, your control.
SPEAKER_00: But humility frees you.
SPEAKER_00: Humility says, this is not about me, this is about Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And then Peter says something even more direct.
SPEAKER_00: Be sober and vigilant.
SPEAKER_00: Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion.
SPEAKER_00: That's not symbolic language.
SPEAKER_00: That's reality.
SPEAKER_00: There is a real enemy, a real battle, a real spiritual war, and he's after you.
SPEAKER_00: And the goal is simple.
SPEAKER_00: His goal is to devour your faith, to distract you, to discourage you, to entice you into all these worldly things so that he can keep you passive.
SPEAKER_00: Because if the enemy can keep you quiet, he doesn't have to defeat you.
SPEAKER_00: But Mark didn't stay quiet.
SPEAKER_00: Even after failure, even after weakness, even after walking away, he came back.
SPEAKER_00: And he gave us his life proclaiming Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And that's the hope for all of us.
SPEAKER_00: Because maybe you don't feel like a great evangelist.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you don't feel like you've failed, like you've drifted, like you've missed your moment.
SPEAKER_00: But look at Mark.
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't discard him, God forms him, God strengthens him, God uses him.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what Peter promises.
SPEAKER_00: The God of all grace will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
SPEAKER_00: Not instantly, but faithfully.
SPEAKER_00: And then the gospel ends with a line that should give you confidence.
SPEAKER_00: They went forth and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them.
SPEAKER_00: That's the key.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord worked with them.
SPEAKER_00: You're not doing this alone.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to have all the answers.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be perfect.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be ready in every way.
SPEAKER_00: You just have to be willing.
SPEAKER_00: So here's a question for this Saturday.
SPEAKER_00: Are you living a faith that stays with you or a faith that moves through you?
SPEAKER_00: Because the gospel was never meant to stop at you.
SPEAKER_00: It was meant to pass through you, into your family, into your workplace, into your friendships, into all your relationships.
SPEAKER_00: St.
SPEAKER_00: Mark didn't let this, his past define him.
SPEAKER_00: He let Christ define him.
SPEAKER_00: And that's the invitation today.
SPEAKER_00: Clothe yourself with humility.
SPEAKER_00: Stay vigilant.
SPEAKER_00: Resist the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Trust that God is working, and then go.
SPEAKER_00: Because the world does not need more people who know about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: It needs people who are willing to proclaim Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And when you do, he will do what he has always done.
SPEAKER_00: He will work with you.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.