April 25 is the day each year when the Church remembers Mark, or St Mark, the writer of the Second Gospel.

WHO WAS MARK THE GOSPEL WRITER?

Scholars are far from certain who wrote Mark’s Gospel, but Mark the Evangelist is traditionally believed to be the 'John Mark' referred to in the Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early Church. He was the son of Mary of Jerusalem (Acts 12:12) whose home became a meeting place for the apostles. He is also the cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), a Levite and a Cypriot.

Mark joined Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey to Antioch in 44 A.D. When the group reached Cyprus, Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem - we aren’t told why (Acts 13:13). It may have been this incident that caused Paul to question whether Mark could be a reliable missionary and a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas led Paul to refuse Mark's accompaniment on their second journey to the churches of Cilicia and the rest of Asia Minor.

However, it can be assumed the troubles between Paul and Mark did not last long, because when Paul was first imprisoned, Mark, who was at the time in Rome with plans of visiting Asia Minor, visited him as one of his trusted companions (Col 4:10).

Mark's hopes to visit Asia Minor were most likely realised, because during Paul's second captivity and just before his martyrdom, Paul wrote to Timothy at Ephesus advising him to "take Mark and bring him with you [to Rome], for he is profitable to me for the ministry" (2 Tim 4:11). If Mark returned to Rome at this time, he was probably there when Paul was martyred.

According to Christian tradition, Mark also held a close relationship with St. Peter, who referred to Mark has 'his son' in his letter addressed to a number of churches in Asia Minor (1 Peter 5:13). Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus and Papias all indicate that Mark was an interpreter for Peter.

Some believe Mark was actually speaking of himself when he wrote the description of Jesus' arrest in Gethsemane. "Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked" (Mark 14:51-52).

According to tradition, Mark travelled to Egypt and founded the Church of Alexandria. The Coptic Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and the Coptic Catholic Church all trace their origins to this original community. He became the first bishop of Alexandria and is honoured as the founder of Christianity in Africa. It’s believed he was martyred in AD 68, by being dragged through the streets until he was dead.

In 828, relics of St. Mark were stolen from Alexandria and taken to Venice, Italy. There they are enshrined in the cathedral dedicated to the saint.

Mark's Gospel, the shortest of the Gospels was probably written between 60 and 70 A.D., based on the teachings of St. Peter. He tells the story of Jesus’s ministry roughly in the order things happened, moving swiftly through from Jesus baptism to the critical events of the cross and resurrection. Only four paragraphs in Mark’s 16 chapters are unique to Mark - all the rest appears again in either Matthew or Luke or both.

In Mark’s Gospel, we see Jesus in action. And as we watch, the things he does and teaches convince us that he is the Son of God himself.

1 John 3: 11-24

John 10: 11-18

IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK

• God's peace and justice in all war torn places of the world, but especially in Ukraine, and in Israel and Gaza as the situation seems to be worsening.
• the bereaved especially thinking of the loved ones of Michael Pope 
• the sick, in mind, body or spirit
• the staff at the surgery
  
• the residents and staff of the Mount Care Home
  
• the children and staff of our Parish school sand elsewhere, as they prepare for SATs, GCSE, A Levels and University exams

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