The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana 9
jaG°_sP el commentar for 1 in no need of repentance And so
n. 9 .-" ," . " .
ark brings Jesus onto center plications of Jesus submitting to baptism by John
"- Commentary ,
The baptism of Jesus: The simple story by Mark
the Baptist. As time went on Christian communi-
ties found such submission offensive. This develop-
ment is expressed'in the way Matthew and Luke
handle the baptism of Jesus story and in its total
omission from the Gospel of John. We suspect that
Jesus' baptism by John was given this new spin
because as time went on there were disputes be-
tween disicples of Jesus and disicples of John the
Baptist as to who really was Messiah. The baptism
of John was still practiced in the latter part of the
first century by John's disciples.That they came
into conflict with Christians, i.e. followers of Jesus,
is indicated in the Gospel of John. The Christian
Churches had to deal with the problem that Jesus
seemed to be a disciple of John the Baptist. In real-
that Jesus came from Nazareth of
Was baptized by John in the Jordan
came up out of the water the heav-
and the Spirit came down upon him in
uove. A voice of approval comes from
ray beloved Son. With you I am
is Mark's simple description of
to the description
and- - Luke. They took Mark's sim-
mane some changes and elaborations.
Matthew and Luke had a problem
Jesus was baptized by John.
was a sign of inner repen-
to early theological develop-
y without sin and therefore
ity he may well have been so at first. Later Jesus de-
veloped his own baptismal ministry.
Mark already deals with this problem by
demonstrating John's inferiority to Jesus in the
statements about his unworthiness to act as slave to
Jesus and his comparison between baptism by John
and baptism by Jesus. More important for Mark
than the baptism itself is the voice of revelation that
comes from heaven after the baptism: "You are my
beloved Son. In you I am well pleased." In this state-
ment we see an evolution in Christian theology as to
when the divine character of Jesus was revealed.
Earliest theology on this matter is found in an old
creed cited by Paul in his Letter to the Romans, that
Jesus "wasdesignated Son of God in power accord-
ing to the Holy Spirit by his resurrection."
Mark is not satisfied to place such a designation
or revelation only at the end of Jesusearthly life.
He places that revelation at the beginning of Jesus'
public life, on the occasion of his baptism: "You are
my beloved Son." Matthew and Luke will take the
revelation of Jesus' divine sonship still farther back,
to Jesus' conception. In Luke this is done through an
annunciation to Mary. In Matthew through an an-
nunciation to Joseph. The Gospel of John has a still
different approach. The author of that gospel first
speaks of the eternal Word of God who was himself
GOd and through whom GOd created all things. It
was this Word of God who is God who then became
human through Jesus of Nazareth. Thus our lesson
today is theological, a lesson in faith rather than a
lesson in morality.
Other readings: Isaiah 42:1.4, 6.7; Acts
10:34-38.
£
communion
and their un-
communion.
ntinued be-
churches
and Other Chris-
activities and in-
"Orthodox
Or-
ere the col-
.raunism has
new needs
for the re-
No-
to ordain
rati-
and
In November
extensive
efforts
COnsequences
First ordina-
Ln Worsen in
in the
to find
and oppo-
to
offi-
oUt Policies
and other
move
16 papal
t the
itself
ts efforts
rela-
With Islam
Mus-
and
in As-
SeCond inter-
by
World
month the
Christ.
erstanding
during a visit to Sudan.
Throughout the year Vatican
and Israeli representatives had
a series of meetings to find
ways to improve relations be-
tween them.
American religious leaders
moved to calm anti-Muslim
feelings when the February
bombing of the World Trade
Center in New York and other
foiled bomb plots were linked
to followers of a radical Mus-
lim cleric, Sheik Omar Abdel
Rahman.
The world Parliament of Re-
ligions met in Chicago last
summer.
The ecumenical movement
lost a leading figure Oct. 7
with the death of the Rev. Arie
R. Brouwer, 58, a Reformed
Church in America minister
who was deputy general secre-
tary of the World Council of
Churches 1983-85 and general
secretary of the National
Council of Churches 1985-89.
He died of cancer.
Leading Catholic figures
who died in 1993 included:
Helen Hayes, 92, one of
America's most honored stage
and screen actresses, who was
also widely recognized for her
social and religious contribu-
tions in real life; March 17, in
Nyack, N.Y., of congestive
heart failure.
Msgr. John M. Oesterre-
icher, 89, Moravian-born Jew
turned Catholic, founder and
head for 40 years of the world's
first Institute of Judaeo-Chris-
tian Studies at Seton Hall Uni-
versity in New Jersey, pioneer
in Catholic-Jewish relations
and chief architect of the new
Catholic teaching on Jews and
Judaism adopted by the
world's Catholic bishops at
Vatican II: April 19, in Liv-
ingston, N.J., of a heart attack.
Cesar Chavez, 66, United
Farm Workers founder and
head whose name symbolized
the nonviolent struggle for
farm worker rights since the
1960s: April 23, in San Luis,
Ariz., of natural causes.
Father Bede Griffiths, 87,
British Benedictine monk and
convert from Anglicanism who
founded a monastery in India
in 1958 and whose pioneer
writings on Eastern religions
and spirituality paved the way
for a vast intercultural and in-
terreligious East-West dia-
logue: May 13, in Shanti-
vanam, India.
Cardinal Juan Jesus
Posadas Ocampo, 66, arch-
bishop of Guadalajara, Mexico,
apparently a victim of mis-
taken identity in a shoot-out
between rival drug gangs: May
24, at the Guadalajara airport,
of multiple gunshot wounds.
King Baudoin, 62, ruler of
Belgium since 1951, who in
1990 temporarily abdicated his
throne rather than violate his
Catholic convictions by signing
a bill legalizing abortion: July
31, while vacationing in Motril,
Spain, of a heart attack.
Federico Fellini, 73,
Oscar-winning Italian movie
director whose stylized, biting
film satires of Italian religious
and social life in the 1950s and
'60s earned him a prominent
place in film history and a rep-
utation as an anti-cleric, al-
though his work often reflected
Christian values: Oct. 31, in
Rome, of a stroke.
Felix Houphouet-Boigny,
88, president of Ivory Coast
since independence in 1960
and a staunch Catholic who
left as a monument to his 33-
year rule the world's tallest
Catholic basilica, completed in
1990 at a cost of $150 million:
Dec. 7, in Abidjan, of cancer.
Golden Jubilarians
Norbert and Virginia (Ellert) Kremer of Evansville cele-
brated their fiftieth wedding anniversary with a family
gathering Nov. 27, 1993. The couple was married Jan. 11,
1944, by Father Francis Bauer at Assumption Cathedral in
Evansville. They are the parents of three children: Pat Le
Gate, Tom Kremer and Mike Kremer, all of Evansville.
They have 12 grandchildren, and two great-grandchil-
dren. Mr. Kremer retired in 1980 after 33 years as a sales
representative for several manufacturing companies. He
later retired from First Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Kre.
mer is a retired teacher with the Evansville Catholic Dio-
cese schools. They are members of Holy Trinity Church,
Evansville.
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