Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, St. Mark’s Day: April 25, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝
Scandinavians can at times think of their holidays in some odd ways. There’s a Swedish Christmas carol that isn’t meant to make any sense, but it sure gives you something to sing while you’re dancing around that Christmas tree! Yep, pretty weird. Anyway, as I’m told, the translation of the song goes something like this: “Now it’s Christmas again, now it’s Christmas again! And Christmas it shall be ’till Easter. So, it’s Easter again, so it’s Easter again, and Easter it shall be ’till Christmas!”
Stanza two: “Now it’s Christmas again, now it’s Christmas again, and Christmas it shall be ’till Easter. No that isn’t right, no that isn’t right, for in the meantime there is Lent.” Must be those cold and dark Arctic-Circle winters.
As much as you want to stay on the “high” of a great holiday like Christmas or Easter, it never fails that the “low” comes around sooner than you’d like. There is no such thing as floating in ecstatic pleasure and merriment from one holiday to the next, despite what those “rich and famous” reality shows try to show you. The real reality is that there’s hard work, arguments, lack of interest, and even death and grief mixed in between our celebration times. In just the same way a cold, wintry Lent throws off your Christmas party-train heading for the warmth of Easter. Now being joyful like on Easter Day is great, however, the Church simply cannot sustain herself on a diet of constant revivals, emotional euphoria, and nonstop happy feelings. There are of course churches who try that; it’s one way to give people with itching ears what they want to hear. But eventually the ministers who employ this tactic either start losing touch with their people or they move on to other “markets” like the Music Man and stir up the fervor in some new victims.
And here we are, right in the middle of the glorious Easter Season, a blessed time in celebration of new life, and the Church calendar throws in a day commemorating the death, the martyrdom, of St. Mark, the Divinely-inspired writer of the Second Gospel. Easter white comes off for a week, blood red goes on. Today in the midst of our proud Alleluias and bold confession of faith that is founded on the fact of the empty tomb, we remember a man who at least at one time in his life, seems to be frightened, perhaps immature and confused.
From the looks of it, Mark, who had the Hebrew name John, was a close associate or maybe student under Peter. He may have been quite young during the time of Jesus’ visible ministry, and church history often claims that since Mark’s Passion account has the Bible’s only reference to a young man who was grabbed by the soldiers in the garden of Gethsemane and then pulled away and fled naked, that therefore this individual was Mark. For certain we read in Acts that Mark had volunteered to go with Paul on one of his missionary journeys, but all of the sudden, and for an unexplained reason, he deserted Paul and Barnabas in a region of southern Turkey called Pamphylia. Because of that, Paul decided against taking Mark along on his next trip; he did not want a deserter involved in the ministry of the Word. [Acts 15:37-40] Our reading from St. Paul in 2 Timothy, a letter that he probably dictated in a Roman dungeon, mere months or possibly weeks away from his execution, reveals that somewhere in between, Paul and Mark reconciled again. By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit alone, Mark’s fearful and doubtful attitude evidently changed to make him an asset as Paul himself says to Timothy: “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”
As little as we know about this Evangelist, his life is nevertheless a case study for you. He may not at all times have given a good example of a bold witness to Jesus. He may have been plagued with fears of the future, doubts concerning his fitness for the work that God gave him to do, remorse over his shameful and cowardly break with no less than the Apostle Paul. You may get upset about a traffic ticket or a bad grade haunting you later on in the future, but just imagine if your indiscretions were recorded in the Bible! Talk about a permanent record! If anyone could have been a New Testament case for depression, a man near the top of the list would be John Mark.
What about you? Have you felt guilt over something you did that just seems too terrible or too great to forgive? Have you been attacked by the devil’s direct onslaught of shame and accusation, or his sneaky, indirect approach of temptation and doubt that cripple you later on? Perhaps you have angrily parted company with a friend or a relative. Might have been a blow-up over a Facebook post. You are separated from each other in actual distance or in your attitude, but it doesn’t matter. It would be next to impossible to set things right with them again. The love you once had for this individual would be harder to rekindle than to light a candle underwater.
God sent you a man named Mark to tell you exactly what you need. “The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” It is what he wrote as the Holy Spirit enabled him: not just a collection of facts and history about a notable character, but the gospel, the Good News that gives into your ear and heart the Jesus that this Book proclaims. This gospel is the antidote for the poison of your sinful, doubting heart, it is the treasure of forgiveness that reconciles you to God and your loved one. This gospel is Jesus Christ Himself coming to you, entering into your mouth and cleansing your soul and body to be His precious and chosen possession. It’s Jesus saying to you that even though you will weep and lament in sorrow, your sorrow will soon turn to joy. He can guarantee that, and He does guarantee that-because your joy after sorrow depends on His going to the Father and His returning to you in order to take you home. Those are absolute certainties, and not empty promises. The Evangelist Saint Mark was moved by the Holy Spirit to assure you of that very thing.
This gospel is not just a friendly pick-me-up story that gives you merely a new perspective on your problems. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God is your lifeblood as a Christian, your very breath of life. This gospel is such a valuable thing for you because Jesus filled it with His breath, the breath that He let go as He died on the cross for your sake. The Gospel of Mark records the Easter story with special emphasis on the fear and trembling of those who discovered the empty tomb, only to announce that Christ Himself made them bold to stand up against the enemies of the Church. For it is that gospel that strengthened John Mark to put away his fears and suffer the ultimate price of death for the sake of His Savior. It is the same gospel that strengthens you too, in body and soul.
Sure you will have difficult times. You will have sorrow. Of course some of the worst things you can possibly think of will still happen to you and your family. Often you will not be able to bounce back right away after you’ve been crushed to the ground. There are times when it will look bleak, like it couldn’t get any worse, like you’ve been deserted completely in all this mess. I know, because I’ve felt that too. But even when it seems like you have nothing to hold on to, remember that you have the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You have His promise: A little while, and I will see you again. That is the only reason why Paul can say with confidence just before his life is cut short in martyrdom: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day.” And “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.” Dearly beloved, this same confidence is also yours this day, and it will preserve in you your Easter joy all year round, at least as the Swedish song says, to get you to Christmas!
In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Readings
(Jubilate)
Is. 40:25–31 They shall mount up with wings like eagles
or Lam. 3:22–33 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed.
Psalm 147:1–11 The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him
1 Peter 2:11–20 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles
or 1 John 3:1–3 Behold what manner of love
John 16:16–22 I will see you again and your heart will rejoice
or
St. Mark, Evangelist
Is. 52:7–10 How beautiful upon the mountains
Psalm 146 Do not put your trust in princes
2 Tim. 4:5–18 I have fought the good fight
Mark 16:14–20 Go into all the world and preach the Gospel