“But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said” When he ascended on high he led a host of captives. And he gave gifts to men.” Eph. 4:7,8

           Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Mark the evangelist. It is one of the fixed feasts of the year falling on the 25th of April whether it is a Sunday or not. And As one of the so called red letter feasts of the church year its commemoration takes precedence over the Sunday. Yet There was no feast of Saint Mark at all in the calendar of the western church until the time of Gregory the great, about 1500 years ago. The Sunday was simply the second after Easter, and the 25th of April was known as the “great Rogation”.

           For the Pagan Romans April 25th was a festival called Robigalia which was made up of processions, sacrifice and prayers intended to protect the newly planted crops from mildew. As often happened, Christianity took over this pagan holiday and transformed it into a Christian festival, in this case a day of prayer of intercession with particular emphasis on the beginning of the growing season. By Gregory’s time the pagan religion of Rome and its practices had largely disappeared, and public Christian litanies and processions to counter it were not as necessary, so the rogation prayers of intercession for the crops were transferred to their current dates just before Ascension day , and the 25th of April was appointed the feast day of Saint Mark. Commemorating the first of the evangelists.

           Today’s Collect speaks directly to the value of the gospel doctrine God has given us through Saint Mark, The gospel lesson prophecys of the martyrdom Saint Mark and others endured, but the epistle speaks more broadly about Christ, his church and the gifts he has left her.

           Until it was shortened at the time of the reformation the epistle began in verse 7 of chapter 4 of the letter to the Ephesians. and read:

           “But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said” When he ascended on high he led a host of captives. And he gave gifts to men.”(in saying, ‘he ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)vers 11 ff.

           In this longer form there is a clear structure to the lesson. . There are three ruling ideas. 1, the glorified Christ who is the source of all gifts to his church, 2. The diversity of the gifts he gives, 3 the purpose to which they are given. The shortened form strangely leaves out any reference to The Glorified Christ. Strangely because it is only through Christ that we receive the grace of God. He alone is the giver of divine gifts. AS it says in Psalm 68 (which Saint Paul is quoting here) when he ascended he lead a host of captives. The imagery here is that of a conquering general leading all his prisoners of war and bringing gifts of war booty into Rome, an site common in Ancient Rome. But here Christ leads the powers of evil captive into the heavenly city and has gifts of grace to bestow on us, his servants.

           The next verse speaks clearly to the incarnation lest we get the wrong idea about this holy conqueror. He who ascended is also he who descended to the earth.. So the gifts of god are given to us by Jesus who is the Christ the conquering hero , who fought the powers of evil, the world the flesh and the devil, offering them in triumph to us.

           These gifts are many and varied. Some are called to be apostles, some prophets some evangelists (to proclaim the gospel, as did st. mark.) Some pastors and teachers all however, whatever their work are for the perfecting of Christians, and for the building up of the mystical Body of Christ.

           Lastly These gifts vary, but their purpose is one: that in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the son of God that comes by faith, we should all come to full human stature– the stature of Christ’s own humanity. Hence we shall not be as children, at the mercy of deceit and false opinion, but shall uphold the truth in love, and become like Christ, the head of the body. The whole body is knit together through him, and through every channel by which his grace comes to us from him its source. His grace works in the measure, to the degree , that each one of us as a part of the body can receive, so that the whole body is built up in love.

           Christ give us gifts of divine grace. These gifts are several and varied, but they all lead to one thing, the glorification of god threough Christ, and our sanctification.

           Today is the feast of Saint Mark but is also and still a festival of the Resurrection of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. We are not reminded today just to remember blessed saint Mark, the evangelist who put down in writing for us the good news of Christ, but also to think on the varied gifts of grace Christ gives us through his victory on the cross of which evangelism is but one. Saint Mark is but one witness to the harrowing of hell, Christ’s triumphal resurrection and ascension.

           We thank God for this witness of Saint Mark, and we thank God for the victory of Christ and for all those gifts that he gives us that we might glorify and love him through his son our Lord Jesus Christ and though the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen