Completion of the Message of Saint Mark

On this evening we celebrate the eve of the Feast of Saint Mark the Apostle. Saint Mark has a great favor upon us. He is the one who brought the faith into our land, ordained the first priests, established the Theological Seminary, and was martyred for the sake of evangelizing us and delivering to us the word of the Lord… He is a father to us all. And we are all children of Saint Mark.

On his feast day, we do not suffice with speaking about his virtues and his preaching, for this matter is known to you all… Rather, the most important thing that concerns us is the completion of his message.

What was Saint Mark, that we may follow his example and complete his message?

He was a man preaching in the Name of Christ, a servant of the Word, going about from city to city, from village to village, from country to country, and from continent to continent, serving the Lord and proclaiming His Gospel.

He served in very many lands, in Asia, Europe, and Africa. He did not rest nor grow weary for the sake of the Word of God with which he was entrusted, whether he served alone or with Peter or Paul…

And the Apostle Paul was also like this. He labored more abundantly than all.

In journeys often, in dangers in the wilderness and the sea, he preached the Word of God, even while in prison, a prisoner in the Lord… And while standing before Felix the governor, he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come, until the governor trembled.

These saints, such as Saint Mark and Saint Paul, labored in an unending struggle until they delivered the faith to us…

They labored, and we have entered into their labors. We received the faith easily and soundly, without toiling in it…

When Saint Mark came to Egypt, Egypt was not Christian. In it were the ancient Pharaonic worship, the Greek and Roman religions, Judaism, and other religions, and it abounded with ancient philosophies. Preaching in it seemed difficult, exhausting, and arduous…

But he worked and did not despair. He did not stipulate capabilities or conveniences, nor did he ask for comfort in service. Rather, he gave himself to toil for the sake of the Lord and for the building up of souls.

He had no headquarters, no building in which to serve, and no church. But he had the faith that moves mountains. And he had the strong determination to speak the Word of the Lord and spread it…

He was a stranger in a strange land, a stranger to the people of Egypt, its language, its traditions, its religion, and its philosophies. But he did not care about this estrangement, and he resolved to deliver the Word of the Lord to the people…

And he struggled in his preaching until there came a time when Egypt became Christian.

As for us, many conveniences are before us. Printing presses have made the Word of God within reach of every hand. We have churches and buildings, and easy means of transportation. But we do not have the desire that those saints had.

Nor do we have the determination, nor the insistence on delivering the Word of God, nor the holy, fiery, fervent zeal that inflames a person in the path of service.

If we are children of Saint Mark, let us do the works of Saint Mark…

Saint Mark used to bring the pagans and the Jews to Christianity. As for us, the least we can do is to bring our Christian brethren to repentance and holiness of life. It is a duty upon us to do the work of the Lord, with holy zeal…

There are persons whose entire zeal for the Kingdom is to criticize the workers, without doing anything… All their zeal is to weep over the Church and to speak about reform, without work!

But the righteous man, who is of the children of Saint Mark, must work… God will not ask you on the Last Day to present notes or reports about the service. Rather, He will ask you what you yourself have done in the service…

Saint Mark began from zero, without capabilities, but by faith, love, and struggle, he set the world ablaze.

I marvel at these spiritual energies that work with all strength, without capabilities, in spite of obstacles and tribulations…

The Lord Christ prepared twelve apostles, then seventy others. And by these eighty-two the earth was filled with faith. Each one of them was a flame of fire. The Apostle Paul says, “Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?”

From here, service was a fundamental duty in the life of every person. “Every tree which does not bear fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.”

The Lord will ask you: What is your fruit? What is your spiritual production? How many persons have you brought to the Lord? One seed can become a tree for us all and produce thousands of seeds…

It is a rebuke to us from nature if we are without fruit.

We want each one of you to have a fruitful service, in whose fruit you rejoice and the whole Church rejoices. Serve and do not be concerned about obstacles. For obstacles bring to the servant greater delight, and his joy increases in overcoming difficulties.

Shall we sit silent while souls perish every day?! How beautiful is the saying of the Lord in Genesis (1:12): “A tree yielding fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind.” And you, as a son of God, ought to have fruit according to your kind (the children of God).

You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world; therefore, do not center yourselves around yourselves.

He who is concerned only with himself has not understood Christianity. For Christianity says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And your neighbor is every person…

Everyone who has tasted the sweetness of the Lord calls to all, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good,” as the Samaritan woman did: “Come and see.”

There are spiritual energies that were able to draw to the Lord cities and countries.

The Holy Spirit who worked in the past is the same Spirit who works now, with the same power and assistance, and with the same gifts…

But the important thing is that you present yourself and share with the Holy Spirit in His work, and take from Him and give to the people, with all love and zeal.

God will hold us accountable for this generation in which we live…

He will say to us: What is your spiritual influence on this generation? What is your spiritual fruit in every place you have dwelt? What is the measure of your effort in building the Kingdom of God? How many persons knew God through you? And how many repented? How much did you toil for the sake of the Lord…?

Do we rejoice because we are children of Saint Mark and have the See of Saint Mark and the relics of Saint Mark, and his preaching? Or do we rejoice in completing his work in service?

We are entering into the summer, and we want to do in it the work of the Lord. Do not wait for an angel to descend from heaven to call you to service. For service is a love that controls the heart: love for God and for people, love for the Church and the Kingdom.

And the love that is in you ought to be translated into work and into giving.

The Lord said to the angel of the Church of Ephesus, “I know your works, your labor, and your patience.” So what is your labor? Would that you examine yourselves concerning the element of service in your lives. Service ought to be a fixed element in your confessions.

And if you do not serve by sermons and teaching, serve by your example, by your appearance, by your manner, by your dealings, by your good spirit. Make people love the Lord because of you, because of their love for you…

And thus they follow God, so as to become like you, in the same image and personality and spirituality, and with the same life that influenced them and attracted them.

Do not be unfruitful trees in the Paradise of the Lord, for every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and cast into the fire…

Let the holy zeal and the living, working faith be kindled in you, and go about seeking the lost souls, and complete the message of Saint Mark.

You, my brother, ought to share in building the Kingdom, and each day bring to the Lord a new person. And trust that whenever you walk in the way you will find a soul prepared and a heart opened. In every encounter you will meet another Anianus ready to accept the faith…

And be assured—before you serve and work—that the Holy Spirit opens hearts to receive the Word, and that you will not work alone. But as Paul said about himself and Silas, “We are workers together with God.”

What a great honor this is: that you work with God and share with the Holy Spirit. How great this is: that the Spirit precedes you to prepare the hearts for your work in them, so that your word may come with fruit…

How great this is: that you speak, and the Spirit speaks upon your mouth, and places in your mouth the powerful and effective Word of the Lord, and you deliver it to the people…

Many serve the world. But you will serve the Lord…

You will deal with souls, for the sake of their eternity and their salvation.

You will walk in the path of your holy fathers who “shall shine like the firmament and like the stars forever and ever,” and you will be “like the angels of God in heaven.”

How many souls have not yet been reached by the Word of the Lord, or it has reached them weakly without effect, and they are waiting for the word of the Spirit upon your mouth, to plant in them the love of God and the longing for the life of the Spirit.

Many souls perish every day, and they will not be judged alone, but we also will be judged with them, because it was possible for us to save them, and we did not do so. We left them and passed by them, without our conscience troubling us, and without remembering the saying of the Apostle:

“To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

“He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).

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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Seven (Issue Twenty) – 14-5-1976

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