Reading
Mark 16:15-20
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Comment
If previously Jesus had sent his disciples to preach the gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, forbidding them to pass through the cities of the pagans and the Samaritans (Mt 10: 5-6), with his death and resurrection his salvation extends to the whole world. Jesus invites his faithful to proclaim the message of the gospel with strength and conviction. Our word is not one among many in the noisy piling up of ideas and opinions in the world, but its acceptance is a matter of life or death.
The words of Jesus reported by Mark are similar to those of the Great mandate in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 28:19-20), with the addition of the contrast between those who will be baptized and will have believed and those who will not believe. Faith is the fundamental requirement for accessing salvation. In the early church, baptism immediately followed the profession of faith, by which he who believed with his heart professed Christ with his mouth (Rom 10:9). The rite manifested interior adherence to Christ with an external sign.
The wonders promised by Jesus are referred to the apostolic community and not to every single believer in every age (1 Cor 12:29-30; Heb 2:3-4); but the practice of the virtues by each disciple will be more eloquent than any word.
Speaking in tongues is functional for spreading the Gospel to all peoples. The power over snakes and poison is also power over the Evil One, the ancient snake, which tries to induce sin and makes war against the saints. Evangelization requires overcoming human prudence and fear of the world, it needs courageous men and women. The disciples are also called to take care of those who suffer, invoking the action of the Spirit of God on the sick and proclaiming them blessed, because they will be comforted (Mt 5:4).
With the ascension, the words of the psalm that Jesus recalls shortly before in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 12:36) are fulfilled: "The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (Ps 109:1). The same psalm is recalled by Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:33-36).
The ascension into heaven does not represent the abandonment of his community by Jesus; he had promised that he would sit at the right hand of the Father (Mk 14:62), a place of privilege and authority, and from there he continues to govern his Church. We have the duty and the joy to continue his work on earth, guided by the Spirit, until his return.
Prayer
Intercede for us from Heaven, o Lord, and send your Spirit upon us; so that we may be bearers of your word of salvation and your blessing, to the ends of the earth. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
