Mark was a young student of Jesus Christ who was apparently with him in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night Jesus was arrested. His mother organised the last supper in the upper room in Jerusalem. Later Mark became a student and close friend of St Peter and accompanied him to Rome. This Gospel was probably written down during Nero‘s persecution of the Christians in Rome and the Jewish revolt, as suggested by internal references to both a war in Judea and to persecution. This Commentary is written with a historical focus aiming to extract what can be discovered about the historical person of Jesus and his earliest context, but also to discover the theological and psycho-spiritual meaning of the text – how can these ancient writings speak to us, in our current human situation ? Does the message of Christ (that the Kingdom of God is among us, and that love, not the love of power, should be our goal) still have useful lessons for us today, even amidst our technologically complex world ? By tradition Mark ended up in Egypt and became the first Bishop of Alexandria, and is greatly esteemed by the Coptic Church. He is also Patron Saint of Venice, which claimed to bring his remains back from Egypt to lie at the great Patriarchal Basilica of St Mark in Venice. Mark has been likened in iconogaphy to a Lion, which means that we need to be courageous to become true disciples of Christ. (The Lion motif also occurs in the Gospel of Thomas). This commentary draws on Hebrew, Aramaic, Coptic, Greek, Latin and Egyptian studies, to try and track down the roots of Christ’s teachings in all their depth. It also explores the many levels of interpretation which the New Testament requires: historical, literal, figurative, mystical, and allegorical. It draws on the concepts of transpersonal history to enable a comprehensive overview of both the details of the text, but also their wider archetypal, symbolic, psychological, spiritual and historical meanings to unfold. It draws on Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Quaker, Protestant, Qabalistic, Hermetic, Gnostic, Platonic, Druidical and transpersonal ideas.
Title | File Contents | File Number |
---|---|---|
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part One | Introduction to the Gospel and reading of Chapter 1 | VN555186.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Two | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 1 | VN555190.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Three | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 2 | VN555193.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Four | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 2 | VN555198.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Five | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 3 | VN555201.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Six | Commentary of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 3a | VN555204.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Seven | Commentary of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 3b | VN555205.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Eight | Commentary of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 3c | VN555209.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Nine | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 4 | VN555212.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Ten | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 4 | VN555213.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Eleven | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 5 | VN555214.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twelve | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 5 | VN555215.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Thirteen | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 6 | VN555218.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Fourteen | Commentary of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 6 | VN555219.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Fifteen | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 7 | VN555225.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Sixteen | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 7 | VN555227.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Seventeen | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 8 | VN555228.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Eighteen | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 8 | VN555229.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Nineteen | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 9 | VN555231.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 9 | VN555233.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-one | Reading on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 10 | VN555236.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-two | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 10 | VN555238.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-three | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 11 | VN555240.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-four | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 11 | VN555251.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-five | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 12 | VN555255.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-six | Commentary of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 12 | VN555276.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-seven | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 13 | VN555280.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-eight | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 13 (a) | VN555284.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Twenty-nine | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 13 (b) | VN555286.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Thirty | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 14 | VN555288.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark Part Thirty One | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 14 | VN555291.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark, part Thirty-Two | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 15 | VN555295.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark, part Thirty-Three | Coommentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 15 | VN555300.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark, part Thirty-four | Reading of the Gospel of Mark Chapter 16 | VN555302.mp3 |
Commentary on the Gospel of St Mark, part Thirty-five | Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Chapter 16 | VN555311.mp3 |