Humility before God and Watchfulness against the Devil
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet 5:6).
“Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8).
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Mark the evangelist. Today’s first reading is taken from the first letter of St. Peter and the Gospel passage is from the last chapter of the Gospel according to St. Mark. In today’s first reading, St. Peter refers to Mark as “my son” (1 Pet 5:13). This signifies a relationship between a teacher and a disciple. According to the early tradition, Mark wrote his Gospel as Peter’s interpreter, recording his eyewitness accounts of Jesus.
Today’s Gospel speaks about the mission of proclamation given by Jesus to his apostles as well as the assurance of his accompaniment. The first reading speaks about the attitudes required while fulfilling the entrusted mission. We need to clothe ourselves with humility because all power and glory belongs to God alone and we are God’s instruments. Besides, we need to be alert against the devil who is ever active and looking for an opportunity to attack us when we are negligent.
Today let us meditate on the two attitudes of humility before God and Watchfulness against the devil!