25 April 2012

saintly streaking


Today is the feast of St. Mark.  He is often thought to have written himself into his gospel.  On the night Jesus was arrested, we’re told, “All of [the disciples] deserted him and fled.  A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth.  They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked” (14:50-52).  Not the most flattering of cameos! 

In his Daily Meditation for today, Richard Rohr comments on our saintly streaker.  He speculates that Mark is “quietly admitting that he also ‘deserted him’ (verse 50) and ran from suffering and humiliation.  His ‘nakedness’ is not just his but ours too.” 

In the journey of awareness and rediscovery that is the life of walking with Christ, we need to be ready to lay aside our agendas, our burdens, and yes, our garments—if even in a figurative manner! 

(The image is Pavel Popov’s “Judas Betrays Christ with a Kiss.”)

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