Festival of St. Mark, Evangelist
Posted on April 25, 2022 by under
Scripture: Ezekiel 36:22-27 (NKJV)
36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Devotion
Sometimes we feel the incredible pressure of expectations–our own, those of our families, those of our co-workers. And it can be very easy to feel that we can never measure up to those expectations.
This prophecy to the nation of Israel makes it clear–God is doing something for them (and for us!). He is not doing it because they (or we) deserve it; He is doing it for the sake of His own name. For surely if He left it to us, we would be lost. But we can trust Him to fulfill His promise. The Israelites were living far from the lands and people they knew and loved, among strangers and foreigners. They were in exile because God had warned them to repent of their sins and return to Him, but they had not. Imagine the joy you would feel as an Israelite to hear that God would call you back from exile, and sprinkle you with clean water!
In the same way, He has called us His own in the mighty waters of baptism. He has cleansed us from the filth of our sinful natures and inclinations, and invites us to live a new life of holiness before Him. Let us follow Him with joy!
Prayer: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who have celebrated the solemnities of the Lord’s Resurrection, may, by the help of Thy grace, bring forth the fruits thereof in our life and conversation; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Festival of St. Mark, Evangelist
O Almighty God, Who hast instructed Thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of Thy Evangelists: Give us grace, that being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the Truth of Thy holy Gospel; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
