Saturday of the Octave of Easter, April 14,2007

Scripture: Acts 4:13-21. Psalm 118:1.14-21. Mark 16:9-15. Lectionary # 266

In the first reading from Acts we can learn from Peter and John who have
resurrection faith and who now boldly proclaim that it is better to serve
God than humans. Though forbidden to preach the name of Jesus and witness
to his resurrection, they continue to do so with great courage and
enthusiasm. They have their priorities in order! This is possible once we
have resurrection faith stemming from the sacrament of Baptism and the word
of God in the Gospels. We learn that the apostles will give their lives
for such conviction that Jesus is the Lord of life and the giver of our
salvation. Their priorities stem from this type of faith conviction coming
from their hearts and minds. We probably will never be put to the test of
such a faith but we can learn from them about how to set our priorities in
order. First, comes God as the author of our life and the promiser of
eternal life through Jesus having been raised from the dead by God the
Father. This is a task we face each day, namely, the ordering of our
priorities in the light of faith and love. Both our sacramental baptism and
our confirmation of it as well as the Scriptures and the Eucharist are the
way to hear what God is telling us. They are also the framework for making
priorities that really matter in life; sometimes we have to leave aside our
own personal priorities and take on the priorities inspired by our faith
based on the mystery of Jesus' resurrection. We are helped by our praying
the Scriptures and our participation in the liturgy of the Word of God and
the Eucharist. These are the foundations of our top priorities--even when
we think our personal priorities are more meaningful and life-giving.
Today's selection from Mark is a summary of resurrection appearances that
have been added by a copyist to the original Gospel of Mark which ends
abruptly with the startling verse 8:..."and they said nothing to anyone
(about the Resurrection) for they were afraid." Perhaps, the last today's
verses 16:9-15 and the last five were necessary because of the abrup
character of 16:8 in Mark. I think the following footnote from the
excellent Introduction to the New Testament from R.E.Brown,SS will be
helpful: "The Council of Trent declared 16:9-20 to be canonical Scripture;
but there is no obligation for Roman Catholics to believe that it was
written by Mark. The material resembles resurrection accounts found in
Matt and Luke-Acts (and perhaps in John[for Mary Magdalene], but whether
the copyist who composed it drew directly from those Gospels or simply from
similar traditions is uncertain. The promised "signs" in 16:17-18 resemble
some of the miracles recounted in Acts." (An Introduction to the New
Testament, p.148, footnote 58). So be it. Amen.