O..ecember 13, 1991 The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
i
Commentary
i By ANN WADELTON
ndiana Catholic Conference
F
'TWenty_five years is a mo-
l arit Worth celebratm , but
1: a' 't, " " g
- "ugrltly challenge for
l a ;ture. My wish for you is
liVa,,0ore happy, prodnc-
,,h 2"" UOspel filled years."
4igr use Were the words of
(rei Robert Lynch, general
,aLhrlY of the"United States
p,kel) c Conference, as he
t to the board, advisors
"fiends of the Indiana
I
I
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!1
GOVERNOR AT CANAL
II
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€ tzOSpel Commentary for the Third Sunday
ovent: Cycle C: Luke 3:10.18
t" When Luke was researching traditions about
,e Words and (teel's of Jesus and his disciples, he
eaase familiml not on!y with the Gospel of Mark
with a osDel that is now lost excm3t inso-
I1t1" '-' -- •
t L .as Matthew and Luke have preserved it within
,,elr Own gospels. That lost Gospel we call
t°sP el Q." The name or letter is derived from
ule German word for source, "Quelle." The Ger-
,uan scholars who first introduced the theory of a
10st COs-el referred to it as "die nuelle," in En
• ,, 1 ° x.¢ -
gsh, the Source." Thus from the German noun
"" Uegan to be referred to as "Q".
., Luke therefore had two chief sources of mate-
r With which to construct his own gospel. Be-
es Mark and "Q" he had other traditions, the
t ce of which we do not know. We simply refer
I £uese. traditions as "L" for Luke. It may be that
t Ke himself constructed many of the "L" tradi-
c .In the preaching of John the Baptizer Luke
I Umed all three sources, Mark, and
"Q .... L".
the other two sources, "L" has his own char-
.
t nstics. He is marked by a certain gentleness,
• erness, recognition of human fraility, good
. linen sense What Luke takes from the Gospel
t = ark Illustrates Mark's overriding concern that
/ end is at hand What he takes from "Q" shows
i L.aa} ,,Q,, was something of a fire and brimstone
lrlstian preacher.
ere When Luke combines these three very differ-
Wi'ffadltions, the result is a John the Baptizer
violent yet gentle personality. In a part that
Preaching of John the Baptizer:
Fire and tenderness
our Sunday reading mercifully omits John
scathingly denounces the crowds of people who
come to him for baptism as children of serpents.
He threatens them by comparing them with a tree
that is about to be cut down by an axe and thrown
into the fire. This is the part Luke took from "Q".
Then comes "L". The people asked John what
they should do. Very gently John tells them to
share what they have with those who have noth-
ing. Then the hated tax collectors approach for
advice. Tenderly he advises them not to collect
more than they were supposed to. The body-
guards of the tax collectors approach and ask
what to do. Without rebuking them he tells them
not to extort money, not to falsely accuse some-
one of not paying their taxes in order to extort
more money, and to be content with their wages.
This, we think, is the real Luke speaking through
the mouth of John the Baptizer. Luke then contin-
ues with one of his characteristic psychological
settings: All the people were intensely wondering
whether perhaps John might be their long-awaited
Messiah•
Luke now switches to the Gospel of Mark in
which John downgrades his own activity in favor
of someone greater than himself who will soon be
coming onto the scene. The one to come is so
great that John humbly says that he is unworthy
to even loosen the sandal strings of the one who
will soon baptize, not with water but with the
Holy Spirit. Checking the Gospel of Mark we see
that here is where Mark ended the preaching of
John the Baptizer.
Luke has to turn once more to "Q" for a vie-
lent message that seems so unlike his own
thoughts and those of Mark to express the preach-
ing of John. Where Mark ended with the words, I
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit," both Luke
and Matthew now add: "and with fire," so typical
of "Q". Then Luke continues with "Q" and further
threats. The grain, (good people), would be sepa-
rated from the chaff, (bad people), and the chaff or
straw would be burned in a fire that can never be
put out. So much for "Q". Then Luke adds a gen-
tle note of his own: "With many other such ser-
mons he (John) proclaimed "good news" to the
people. One wonders whether they considered all
of it good news.
We cannot know if even one of these sources
or all of them accurately express the preaching of
John the Baptist which had taken place 50 to 60
years before Luke wrote. There are other indica-
tions that John was a rather fiery preacher. Per-
haps he also had a gentler side. We may in this
strange mixture see a reflection of our Church. In
the person of an obviously great Pope, there is on
the one hand an adamant refusal to recognize the
right of priests to marry and penalties for those
who do, while on the other hand this great man
reaches out to personally embrace lepers and vic-
tims of AIDS and forgives even his own assassin.
But doesn't this reflect all of us? We can be merci-
lessly insensitive toward some and yet act with
the greatest t0nderness toward others.
Other readings for Third Sunday of Advent:
Zephaniah 3:14-18: Phil 4:4-7.
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Schmidlin's account of the
foundling of the Indiana con-
ference in 1966 through the
efforts of the state Catholic
Charities directors, primarily
himself and Gary's Msgr.
Joseph Semancik.
The directors saw the need
for a voice in public policy
because of their extensive
work with the poor as well as
that with adoptions the foster
care. They gained a knowl-
edgeable ally in the newly-
appointed Bishop of
Lafayette, Raymond Gal-
lagher, previous executive
secretary of National Catholic
Charities. Also actively sup-
portive was Bishop Panl Lei-
bold of Evansville.
Father Schmidlin currently
serves as pastor of Nativity
parish in Indianapolis•
Tracing the history of the
Church's efforts to influence
public policy, Msgr. Lynch
noted the first national gath-
ering was in 1917, at the out-
break of World War I, for the
purpose of "assisting in the
patriotic cause of "assisting
in the patriotic cause of a na-
tion at war."
But the real impetus for ac-
tion "was a direct outgrown
of the conciliary experience
and the expectations of the
bishop returning from the
Second Vatican Council."
The Council had decreed that
the Church should have a
larger role in the public life of
society. And the bishops
themselves, having experi-
enced collegiality, were con-
vinced that the local Church
would be enriched by the
same collegiality. "Gone were
the days when only the arch-
bishop, or the cardinal, could
speak," he said.
Every four years, said Msgr.
See ICC page 11
Father John Boeglin, pastor of St. Celestine Church and a member of the Advisory Council,
Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger, and Bernard Kazyak, director of the Catholic Charities Bureau
in the Diocese of Evansville and a member of the Advisory Coumi! ;!k with Msgr. Robert
Lynch, general secretary of the United States Catholic Conference
5
Catholic Conference in cele-
bration of the 25th anniver-
sary of the founding of the
state conference. The celebra-
tion was held Dec. 6
at the Catholic Center in
Indianapolis.
"The goal of the USCC and
the ICC, as well as the other
28 state Catholic confer-
ences," he said, "is to trans-
late the Gospel into everyday
life."
Msgr. Lynch's address fol-
lowed Father Donald
ICC celebrates 25th anniversary of founding
