Today I would like to pose and endeavour to answer two simple questions. The first is simply, Who was St. Mark?
The second, for us in this Church dedicated to St. Mark, Who is St. Mark?
Our Patronal Festival is the occasion to think about what it means to be Mark’s people
Papias of Hierapolis, writing in the early 2nd century and quoted by Eusebius writing in the early fourth century, says that Mark “wrote down accurately whatever he remembered of the things said and done by the Lord, though not in order,” because he had not been an eyewitness himself but followed Peter.
Clement of Alexandria, also in the 2nd century also says Mark wrote the Gospel at the request of Christians in Rome, who longed to preserve Peter’s teaching. St Jerome confirms this and adds that Mark’s Gospel was approved by Peter himself.
Mark was foundational in how the Church came to know, remember and transmit the Gospel message of Christ her Lord.
Mark’s Gospel is the shortest. The Gospel begins not with a birth but with a voice crying in the wilderness—and ends not with a grand summary, but with an empty tomb and trembling witnesses.
It’s been described as the Gospel of astonishment, movement, and divine interruption.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we meet a young man named John, also called Mark—a name that reflects his Jewish heritage (John) and his Roman context (Mark). His mother, Mary, owned a house in Jerusalem large enough for Christians to gather—possibly even the place of the Last Supper and the site of the first Christian “church.”
Mark’s first recorded missionary venture was with Paul and Barnabas, his cousin. They set out with great zeal, but something happened—perhaps fear, homesickness, or disillusionment—and Mark returned to Jerusalem prematurely (Acts 13:13).
When Barnabas later suggested taking Mark on a second journey, Paul refused, and the two apostles parted company (Acts 15:36–41).
Yet that is not the end of Mark’s story—it is, in many ways, the beginning.
Later in Paul’s letters, we see signs of reconciliation and restoration. In Colossians and Philemon, Mark is described as a fellow worker. In Paul’s final letter, 2 Timothy, he says, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11).
So much for who he was – who is this man?
The one who once abandoned the first and world-changing Apostolic mission of St Paul becomes once again a trusted companion.
Whatever brought about that reconciliation is not recorded, but it’s very significant. Apparently die-hard fallings out can be restored.
In a church dedicated to Mark, he is not only a historical figure or just a Gospel writer. He is our Patron, and his name and character shape something of who we are.
Through his Gospel—the first written account of Jesus’ life—he bears witness to the one who is the Son of God, the one who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Mark’s Gospel is about decision. There are no birth narratives, no prolonged reflections. We are immediately confronted with Jesus: preaching, healing, casting out demons, and walking the road to the cross. Mark’s Jesus is always moving, always calling, always summoning us to follow him with matching immediacy.
Mark reminds us that Christianity is not a philosophy but a proclamation. It is news—good news. It must be shared. The whole idea of what a Gospel is come from how he wrote this narrative.
He shows us that failure does not disqualify, and that brokenness can become the seed-bed of grace. He left Paul and Barnabas and let them down. But he returned. And God used him.
Our usefulness to God is not measured by an unblemished record, but by persistence of faith and humility to begin again.
You might say he is the patron of those who have walked away—and come back.
Mark’s symbol, in the window, on the glass door and above the outer door in stone, and throughout the church is the winged lion. It’s one of the four creatures in Ezekiel chapter 1, who reappear in the Book of Revelation. Each get attributed by the early Fathers respectively to the four Evangelists.
Lions symbolize courage and royalty—fitting for a Gospel that begins with the roar of John the Baptist in the wilderness, and reveals Christ as the king who triumphs through suffering. The Lion often is depicted, not just as winged, but with his paw on the Gospel – we are people of the book, his book. The Venetians….
So—Who was St. Mark? He was a young man who failed and returned. A disciple of apostles. A missionary, evangelist, Gospel-writer, and martyr. A man shaped by the Word and used by the Spirit. And, quite possibly, the first to ever write down the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And—Who is St. Mark? For us, he is a companion on the road of discipleship. He is a reminder that the Gospel is worth everything. He is an invitation to speak, to write, to live the good news of Jesus Christ with urgency, truth, and love.
May we, like St. Mark, hear the voice in the wilderness—and echo it. May we turn our past failings into future faithfulness. May we write the Gospel with our lives. And may the winged lion roar—not only from the pages of Scripture, but in the witness of this church, for generations to come. Amen.