--Fr. Timothy W. Castor
St. Mark’s account of the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we have just heard, is the shortest of the passion narratives. Because of this, almost everything that St. Mark tells us is recorded in the other Gospels as well. There is, however, one event which is unique to St. Mark’s narrative. It is the brief mention of a young man who followed Jesus into the garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus is arrested, Mark relates the following: "they all left him and fled. Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked."
No one knows for sure who this young man was. Some have guessed that it was James, the relative of our Lord who later became Bishop of Jerusalem. Others have offered the opinion that it was the Apostle John who, though he fled at this point, later returned to stand at the foot of the Cross. But because St. Mark is the only one to tell us this little story, many scholars say that this young man was, in fact, John Mark, the evangelist himself, who later accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journeys.
In any case, whoever the young man was, the story—though brief—is rich with symbolism. We know from scripture that when Adam and Eve were first created, they were created naked yet were not ashamed. It was only after sin entered their lives that they became ashamed and tried to cover their nakedness with leaves. God himself provided their first suit of clothes and, from that time on, clothing became symbolic of order and tranquility, of modesty and sanity. To be unclothed not only signified immodesty, but also chaos and separation from God. Nakedness was even a sign of demonic possession, as we know from the story of the Gadarene demoniacs. After our Lord casts the demons out, the Scripture tells us that the people found them "clothed and in their right minds." Jesus himself is stripped of his clothes before his crucifixion—indicating not only the shame of his execution, but also the fact that his heavenly Father has forsaken him.
As the disciples flee the scene of Jesus’ arrest, St. Mark is careful to point out the young man who loses his clothes and runs away naked in order to emphasize the complete chaos of the moment, and how all that follows will be dominated by sinful and violent actions.
This raises an important question for each one of us. How do we react to the scandal of Christ’s death? Do we run in shame, or are we willing to embrace the demands of the Cross: to turn from sin and selfishness and to live for others? St. Bede, in his commentary on this gospel, says that the young man fled from the men who were arresting Christ "whose presence and whose deeds he abhorred, not from the Lord, for whom his love remained fixed in his mind, when absent from him in body." St. Bede goes on to suggest that this young man later returned and followed Jesus, mingling with the crowd. If it truly was St. Mark, then we know from the events of his life that indeed he did return to follow the Lord, becoming one of the first missionaries, a writer of one of the gospels, and even, according to tradition, a Bishop and a martyr.
This should encourage us, that even when we fall into sin—even if we should deny Christ in our words or our actions—he will receive us back if we return repentant. As we begin the journey of Holy Week, may the Lord help us to walk this way of the Cross with him, embracing its shame, so that at last we may share the glory of his Resurrection.
© 2003, Rev. Timothy W. Castor