Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Risen!

Congratulations with the feasts of the Resurrection of the Lord and of the myrrh-bearing women, as well as that of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark!

Today’s second Gospel reading was dedicated to the memory of this apostle. We heard how Jesus Christ called his disciples and sent them in pairs to different villages of Galilee to preach repentance, heal the ailing, and drive out demons. He sent them without supplies for the trip, without money, sturdy footwear or clothing for traveling. He instructed them to stay with one family in each village and not to search out better or more comfortable accommodations. The Saviour went on to say that if the villagers don’t accept them or listen to their message, the apostles are to leave that place and take nothing with them, not even the dust on their sandals.

This excerpt is read today because the Apostle and Evangelist Mark, like all the other apostles, had deep faith in God’s Providence, especially when it came to the preaching of the Gospel. The advice of our Lord Jesus Christ, when viewed from the worldly, carnal side, is of course madness. Who out of us would depart on a trip or strike out on a hike without first making thorough preparations? Of course, none of us would. Nothing would turn out without such plans. Although this is so, it sometimes happens that we plan everything and through no fault of our own all is brought to naught. Therefore, let’s take the example of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark, as well as the other apostles, and, before all else, let us place our hope in God in all our endeavours, especially our spiritual ones. If it’s hard for us to have faith that the Lord will arrange everything as needed, let’s remember how successful the apostles were in their ministry, despite their, from a worldly point of view, unpreparedness for such a task. Let’s also remember that short composition or essay, written in the most common and simple Greek by St. Mark, i. e. his Gospel, that, despite all odds, became a part, we could even say the central part, of the most read book of human history!

Dear Brothers and Sisters, for the secular man of the 21st century, it may seem that our Christian faith, our Christian values, our morals, our Holy Scriptures, our risen Christ are outdated and of no consequence today, and that our Church has lost all hope for a future. Perhaps even we, from time to time, have such evil thoughts. These types of thoughts are understandable, for our situation today is complicated, just as it was for the small community of Christians, surrounded by a pagan world, in the first century. Our hope for a future now is no better than it was in then, when the apostles went out to preach and when the Holy Apostle Mark placed quill to papyrus to begin writing about Christ. Let today’s Gospel reading and the memory of the apostle and evangelist Mark strengthen our faith in God’s Providence.

priest Alexis