GOSPEL POWER l APRIL 25, 2022

Saint Mark, Evangelist

Gospel: Mk 16:15-20 

15Jesus said to the Eleven, “Go into all the world and proclaim  the good news to the whole creation. 16The one who believes and  is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be  condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: by  using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new  tongues; 18they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink  any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on  the sick, and they will recover.” 19So then the Lord Jesus, after he had  spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right  hand of God. 20And they went out and proclaimed the good news  everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the  message by the signs that accompanied it. 

In the Gospel of Mark, the intended hearer of the Good  News is “every creature.” The proclamation is all-inclusive,  cosmic, and not only limited to human beings. The role of  Jesus, as seen also in the writings of St. Paul, is not only confined to  saving people from their sins. It also includes the task of recapitulating or gathering back all realities to the Father who brought them forth  into existence. Every created being belongs to God and must return  to God. Jesus is designated as their only way back to their origin. As  he is taken up into heaven, the risen Christ traces the path that leads  to the ultimate destination of every reality. Seated at the right hand  of God, he assumes his lordship of creation and draws all things back to the Creator by empowering the ongoing proclamation of the Good  News. Lord Jesus, deepen our faith-conviction that the Gospel is God’s power for  the salvation of the entire creation. Amen.