Devotion
Go preach the gospel!
David Jacobs
The book of Mark was written the shortest length of time from Jesus' death out of all the Gospels. The other Gospels are written with more style and flair, perhaps because they had heard the same stories as Mark but several decades later. The gospel of John, in particular, is filled with tales of the supernatural that are not written about at all in Mark. The gospel of Mark is perhaps the least cited and considered the least important of the gospels by many, but the no-frills attached writing style and seemingly more accurate depiction of Christ makes it my favorite.
In these verses, Christ commands the disciples to do two things: first, go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature. As we know based on the book of Acts and most of the books following the gospels, the disciples took this commandment to heart. Second, everyone that is baptized will be saved, and those that are not shall be damned. Christ may have meant that any person that is not literally baptized is damned, but I think that a more progressive interpretation is more appropriate.
Prayer
All that know of the gospels, and almost all should because the disciples went forth and spread the good news to all creatures, have a choice: to believe or not to believe. If they have heard the news and chose not to believe, they are refusing the baptism by the Holy Spirit. There is no supernatural element, no poetic prose, just the straight facts of the gospel of Mark. We should all appreciate his work. Thanks be to God.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
