This Gospel is the continuation of the one we had yesterday, which was the account of Jesus' encounter with the rich young man who wanted to know what to do to have eternal life as his inheritance, and to whom Jesus had said: "Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor; then you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come on, follow me. »
The comparison of the different versions of this story, which we find in the three synoptic Gospels, shows us that it has undergone a rather complex evolution that does not need to be analyzed at this time. Let us simply remember that, in its present state, in the Gospel of Mark, the story includes two intertwined themes: The primitive theme concerns the unbelief of the Jews and the second concerns the difficulty of entering the Kingdom of God with riches. Let us consider them separately.
Jesus' public ministry began with his baptism in the waters of the Jordan. And in his last appearance to his disciples after his Resurrection, he commanded them to go and teach all nations, to make disciples of them and to baptise them "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".
La comparaison des différentes versions de ce récit, que nous trouvons dans les trois Évangiles synoptiques, nous montre qu’il a connu une évolution assez complexe qu’il n’est pas nécessaire d’analyser en ce moment. Retenons simplement que, dans son état actuel, dans l’Évangile de Marc, le récit comprend deux thèmes qui se trouvent entrelacés : Le thème primitif concerne l’incrédulité des Juifs et le second se rapporte à la difficulté d’entrer avec des richesses dans le Royaume de Dieu. Considérons-les séparément.
It is said that the emperor Napoleon, towards the end of his career but before his fall, after having exercised a good deal of ‘power’ during his lifetime, confided to one of his generals: ‘Do you know what surprises me most in the world? - It's the inability of force to create anything. In the end -- he added -- the sword is always defeated by the spirit.
Le ministère public de Jésus commence avec son baptême dans les eaux du Jourdain. Et, lors de sa dernière apparition à ses disciples, après sa Résurrection, il leur commande d'aller enseigner toutes les nations, d'en faire des disciples et de les baptiser "au nom du Père, et du Fils, et du Saint-Esprit".
Au cours du Concile Vatican II, certains Pères conciliaires auraient voulu la proclamation d’un document consacré spécifiquement à la Vierge Marie, lui attribuant sans doute de nouveaux titres en plus de tous ceux que la Tradition et aussi la piété populaire lui ont conférés. Le Concile opta plutôt pour parler de Marie au chapitre 8 de la Constitution dogmatique Lumen gentium, sur l’Église, situant Marie au cœur du Mystère du Christ et de l’Église.