Reflecting on The Gospel of Mark - a Gospel of Suffering in Contemporary Context

Contemporary Christians reading the gospel of Mark, and others as well, can find in it the challenge of radical discipleship. To be a disciple of Jesus is to follow the footsteps which pass through Calvary to the resurrection. Suffering and the cross remain part of the warp and weft of Christian discipleship. The choice in Mark's gospel is either to flee the cross through lack of faith and fear of the challenge or to embrace it with Jesus.

Are you going through a major crisis in your life? Do you find yourself suddenly bereft of a loved one? Have you received news of a terminal illness? While efforts have to be made to find solace and relief, the life of Jesus as portrayed in Mark's gospel holds before our eyes the reality of the mystery of suffering.

In the multifarious difficulties facing modern society, especially in the areas of family life, economic justice, faith and morals, Mark's gospel urges its hearers today to be ready to bear witness that Jesus is truly the Son of God. Such witnessing may entail affliction, conflict or even persecution. But the power of the risen Lord which sustained the early martyrs of the Christian faith is still there to strengthen us. God's power may be experienced in the form of miracles. However, Mark's gospel emphasizes that miracles performed by Jesus were not intended as an exhibition of his power, but rather were acts of love, inviting us to believe in him whom the Father has sent as Savior of the world. With Paul we cry out, "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!"

Editor's Note:

Sr. Catherine Asomugha is a Missionary Sister of the Holy Rosary. She is completing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Catholic Theological Union of Chicago after which she will return to her native Nigeria to do formation ministry for her Congregation. We are grateful to Sr. Catherine for sharing her reflections on the gospel of Mark.