Proclaim the Good News
Acts 4:13–21; Psalm 118; Mark 16:9–15
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says, “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news” (Mk 16:15). This verse is a summary of the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19. There, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It is our duty to proclaim the gospel to those we meet. Regardless of Mary Magdalene’s background, Jesus appeared to her, and she in turn took the good news to the apostles. For this singular reason, she is regarded as an apostle to the apostles (Mk 16:10–11).
Peter and John, in the first reading, boldly exercised this injunction. Peter says, “We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.” Are we going to stop the spread of the good news of Christ? Every baptized person is expected to bear witness to the truth ceaselessly.
Every day, at the close of the Eucharistic celebration (the Mass), we are mandated by the priest to proclaim the gospel with our lives using any of the dismissal formulas: Go forth; the Mass is over; go and announce the Gospel of the Lord; go in peace, glorifying the Lord with your life; and go in peace. Whenever the priest says the mass is over, it means that it has been extended in our lives! Beloved, preach as you go; you are an extension of God’s love.
Let us pray
O God, who by the abundance of your grace gives increase to the people who believe in you, look with favor on those you have chosen and clothe with blessed immortality those reborn through the sacrament of baptism. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
