Mark 16:9-15

Acts 4:13-21

Psalm 118:1 and 14-15a, 16-18, 19-21

Mark 16:9-15

When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week,

he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,

out of whom he had driven seven demons.

She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.

When they heard that he was alive

and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

After this he appeared in another form

to two of them walking along on their way to the country.

They returned and told the others;

but they did not believe them either.

But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them

and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart

because they had not believed those

who saw him after he had been raised.

He said to them, “Go into the whole world

and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I rejoice today as I contemplate the great things you have done. I want to proclaim the joy of the Resurrection to every creature. The mystery of your Son’s Resurrection is the great sign that fills me with hope for eternal life with you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. They did not believe Mary Magdalene: A dominant theme in Mark’s account of the Resurrection of Jesus is not belief, but unbelief. Mark tells us that Mary of Magdala received the first appearance of the risen Jesus. But Mark doesn’t focus on their encounter or what was said between them. He focuses, rather, on the fact that when she told Jesus’ companions that he was alive and that she saw him, they did not believe her. This unbelief of the disciples fits with Mark’s account of Jesus’ passion which emphasizes how the disciples abandoned Jesus.

2. They did not believe the Two: When Mark summarizes the account of the two disciples who encountered the risen Jesus on the way to Emmaus, he doesn’t detail how Jesus explained the scriptures or how Jesus was recognized in the breaking of bread. Mark emphasizes that the companions of Jesus – his disciples – did not believe Cleopas and the other disciple – possibly, Mary, the wife of Cleopas.

3. Jesus rebuked the Eleven for their Unbelief: When Jesus appeared to the Eleven Apostles while they were at table for the evening meal, he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. From the other Gospels, we know that Peter and John saw the empty tomb and told the others. The eleven all heard the witness of Mary of Magdala. The eleven heard the witness of the two disciples who walked with the risen Jesus for several hours. And yet they struggled to believe. Why does the Gospel of Mark emphasize this? If we remember that Mark’s Gospel was written for Gentiles in the Roman Empire almost thirty years after Jesus died and rose from the dead, we see that Mark wants to emphasize how faith in the risen Jesus was difficult even for Jesus’ eleven apostles. If they struggled to believe without seeing, it is understandable that we would too. We don’t want to hear the rebuke of Jesus. Centuries have passed, and we are called to believe those who saw the risen Jesus. The Gospel of Mark doesn’t end with the rebuke, but with the commission: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you rebuked your disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart. Help me to overcome my own unbelief and stubbornness and fully embrace the new life of your resurrection.

Living the Word of God: How can I fearlessly proclaim the Gospel to those I meet this upcoming week? Is there someone in particular in my life – a coworker or a family member, perhaps – who needs to hear the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ?