We are the calm in the centre of the storm (even when anxious and afraid)
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A VIEW FROM THE BACK PEW
By Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt
AS A THEOLOGICAL student in Toronto in the late 1970s I attended a dramatic presentation of the Gospel of St. Mark offered by an English actor, named Alec McGowan. It left an indelible imprint on my life. According to David Suchet, another actor, who has read the Gospel of St Mark from the pulpit of St. Paul’s Cathedral, in London, England, it took Alec McGowan sixteen months to memorize the Gospel!
The Gospel of St. Mark, according to a number of Biblical scholars, may not only be identified as the earliest written Gospel, but also as a record of the remembrances of St. Peter. These are the stories of the ministry of Jesus that formed the essential message of the ministry of St. Peter as he proclaimed the Gospel.
There have been opportunities during my ministry when I have read the Gospel of St Mark on my own, in public. There have also been times when I have shared this ministry with others. Whether the crowd of listeners filled the church, or if it was a much more intimate number, I always found the experience to be a profound devotional moment in my own life.
After close to two hours, the original ending of the Gospel of St. Mark seems to come to a crashing end, like a drum-roll with loud cymbals telling us that this part of the story is over. Women who came to anoint the body of Jesus meet someone who tells them that, “He is not here…He is Risen…!“. The women are charged with the responsibility of telling his disciples and Peter, the Good News. Yet the Gospel ends by telling us:
…they went out and fled from the tomb, for fear and astonishment gripped them and they told no one anything for they were afraid.
(St. Mark 16: 7-8)
I am drawn to the experience of the women at the Garden Tomb that Easter morning, because of their fear and astonishment. In generations past, emotions were bottled up so tightly that it sometimes made it difficult for people to function. In today’s world conversations are different.
“I am anxious...”
“I am afraid…”
“I feel overwhelmed…”
We live in a world which stands in sharp contrast to generations of the past whose social framework inhibited any sharing of emotion or struggle. In these days, there are those individuals who watch ”in fear and astonishment” at events in the world around us, over which we have little or no control. Fortunately, many folks find support by sharing their thoughts, their fears and their feelings, especially within the safe surroundings of the community of faith which they identify as their spiritual home.
The Good News of the Gospel is that the perceived finality of death has been conquered by the One whose sacrifice on the Cross gives us a freedom and a liberty which stands in sharp contrast to the world’s disorder. Yet at the same time questions about our faith continue to percolate through our thoughts and our lives.
In a profoundly thought-provoking movie, “Conclave”, a leading Cardinal portrayed by Ralph Fiennes reflects on the experience of faith:
Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, then there would be no mystery and therefore, no need for faith.
As people of faith, we can stand up to the malevolent maelstrom which we may feel whirling around us. Even in the midst of our moments of doubts and the questions which arise in our lives from time to time, as followers of Jesus we are the calm in the centre of the storm. The direct message of the Gospel of St. Mark provides us with a firm foundation upon which we build our lives.
This Easter, may it be our joy and delight to proclaim the faith which cuts through our fears and our doubts.
Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
The Lord is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!
Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt has retired from full-time parish ministry but continues to offer priestly ministry in the Diocese.
Illustration: Entry of Christ into Jerusalem (detail). San Baudelio de Berlanga (Soria, Spain), 1125. Fresco transferred to canvas, currently in Indianopolis Museum of Art.