Feast of St Charles Lwanga & Companions

Today, while we reflect on the Gospel of Mark (12:18-27), Tony asks us also to remember St Charles Lwanga and his twenty-one young companions (the first martyrs in Uganda), who were killed for their faith in 1886.

In this Gospel passage, we hear of a confrontation between Jesus and another group – the Sadducees, who weren’t so much a religious party but were more of a social class, or elite. They were the traditionalists of their day who rejected anything new, including the idea of the resurrection.

In replying to the Sadducees question about the widow who remarried, Jesus stresses the sheer newness of the resurrected life (the risen will be like angels in heaven). He also invokes the story of Moses at the burning bush to emphasise that the God revealed is of the living, not the dead.

Tony notes how Jesus challenges the Sadducees and reminds us that our faith is a living one; our scriptures are a living book. He says that, while it is important to understand the historical Jesus who lived 2000 years ago and what his mission was, we need also to interpret who Jesus is for each of us personally in the here and now.

In closing, Tony leaves us with a challenge and a prayer.

The challenge: to read Mark’s Gospel in its entirety or to ‘google’ The Gospel of Mark read by David Suchet (the English actor of Agatha Christi Poirot fame) and listen to him read Mark’s Gospel. It’s about 2 hours but his voice is mesmerising and you’ll be surprised by its impact!

The Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the gift of life, for this wonderful world, for the joy of love and friendship, for the challenge of helping to build the kingdom. We pray for all those individuals and communities who are struggling at this time, that they may find hope in your love. Amen