Unlocking Faith: From Wisdom Teachings to Miraculous Healings in Mark

Julie South [00:00:04]:
Peace be with you. Welcome to your catholic corner. I'm your show host, Julie south, and I am so glad that you are joining me today as we delve into the word of God and its relevance in our lives. Today, your catholic corner is here to help Catholics spiritually prepare for each Sunday's massive starting mid week. Each week you can listen to your catholic corner@yourcatholiccorner.com in today's episode in catholic speak, we're focusing on the readings in the 13th Sunday in ordinary time in year B, which means it is the last Sunday in June 2024. Here's what we'll be covering. We'll start by exploring passages from the Book of Wisdom, Paul's second letter to the Corinthians and the Gospel of Mark. Our main focus will be exploring the typological connection between the Old Testament reading from wisdom and the gospel passage to help you understand why the church chose these specific texts for this specific Sunday.

Julie South [00:01:20]:
If you're unfamiliar with the term typology, don't worry, we'll explain that in a bit. Then we're going to pray together and reflect on what God might be saying to you and to me through these readings. Remember, whenever we gather in Jesus name, he's right here with us. So right now with you and me, he is here with us. Today. We are reading from the Book of Wisdom, chapter one, verses 13 through 15 through to chapter two, verses 23 and 24 from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, chapter eight, verses 7913, 14 and 15 and then Mark's Gospel, chapter five, verses 21 through 43.

Julie South [00:02:14]:
But before that, a quick word about your catholic corner just in case this is your first time here, regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, whether you've only just heard of that man called Jesus, you're new to Catholicism or you're a cradle Catholic. My prayer is that your catholic corner will help bring God's word to life in your heart through insights, reflections and practical applications that help deepen your relationship with God. Every Thursday we'll start preparing for mass by uncovering the richness hidden in each Sunday's Bible readings, from Old Testament prophecies to gospel parables. I invite you to join me and the parishioners of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, New Zealand, sponsors of your catholic corner so that together we can hear God's word and echo. Samuel, speak lord, your servant is listening.

Julie South [00:03:12]:
Now lets get back to todays show. Lets take a look a closer look at the typological link between the Old Testament reading from wisdom and the gospel passage of Mark and why the Catholic Church paired these two, these two passages for the 13th Sunday in ordinary time in year b. Now, as I said earlier, if you're not familiar with the term typology, here's what it means. It refers to the idea that certain people, events or things in the Old Testament. So in this case, in the Book of Wisdom serve as types or foreshadowing of someone or something or an event in the New Testament. So the New Testament reading today is from Mark. It's a bit like God dropping hints or leaving clues in the earlier scriptures that point to the fulfilment we find in Jesus. And in the New Testament today, we have the Old Testament's book of wisdom laying a theological groundwork or illustrating God's intention for humankind, for mankind, for us, for the world.

Julie South [00:04:41]:
It asserts that God, being immortal, didn't create death and intended the same immortality for humans. Now, that's a profound assertion. And what it does is it underscores God's nature as the life giver and his aspiration for humanity to participate, to be able to partake in God's eternal life. Then, in the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark brings this theological groundwork to life. Through Jesus actions as God's son, Jesus personifies the life giving aspect of God, as mentioned in the Book of wisdom. It talks about his miracles, particularly the healing of the chronically ill woman and the resurrection of a young girl. They're not merely acts of kindness. They are powerful demonstrations of Jesus absolute dominion over death and his capacity to bestow life.

Julie South [00:05:56]:
The link between these two passages is the recurring theme of life triumphing over death. The Book of wisdom introduces God as the life giver who did not create death. This theme is further developed in Mark, where Jesus, God's son, exercises his power over death and grants life. Now, this link is more than a literary tool. It's a fundamental theme of christian theology. It reinforces the belief in Jesus resurrection and the promise of eternal life for believers, creating a thread that weaves the entire biblical narrative together from the Old Testament all the way through to the New Testament. Moreover, Mark's gospel emphasises the significance of faith and trust in Jesus. The woman with the haemorrhage believed that all she had to do was just touch Jesus's clothes and she would be healed.

Julie South [00:07:10]:
And then Jairus trusted that Jesus could resurrect his daughter. Their faith was rewarded with healing and life. So listen up, because the passage from the book of wisdom anticipates Jesus divine power and authority, while the gospel story from mark fulfills and then amplifies this theme, which underscores the absolute transformation that faith in Jesus can bring about. So now let's pray together. And as we reflect on these readings, on God's word, as we do, let's have faith and be encouraged to trust in God's power and authority and what it means to have faith in Jesus, to be fully christian, especially during the storms and the challenges that we face in our own lives. Let's pray together. The first reading is from the book of wisdom. God did not make death, and he does not take delight in the death of the living, for he created all things so that they might exist.

Julie South [00:08:43]:
The generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them. And the dominion of Hades is not on earth. For righteousness is immortal. For God created us for incorruption and made us in the image of his own eternity. But through the devil's envy, death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it. The word of the Lord a reading from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. Now, as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness and in our love for you, so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Julie South [00:10:03]:
I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, the one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little. The word of the Lord. A reading from the gospel of Mark. When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea. Then one of the synagogue leaders named Jairus came, and when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, my little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be well and live. So he went with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.

Julie South [00:11:23]:
Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better, but rather grew worse, she had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. For she said, if I but touch his clothes, I will be made well. Immediately her haemorrhage stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that the power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, who touched my clothes? And his disciples said to him, you see the crowd pressing in on you? How can you say who touched me? He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him and told him the whole truth. He said to her, daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease.

Julie South [00:12:35]:
While he was still speaking, some people came from the leaders house to say, your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further? But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, do not fear, only believe. He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, taleta kum, which means little girl, get up.

Julie South [00:13:32]:
And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about. She was twelve years of age. At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat. The gospel of the Lord what was God saying to you through these passages? Keep in mind that God speaks to each of us in different ways. So what resonates with me, what God's nudge to me might be is different to what touches your heart for me. In the first book, the Book of Wisdom, this part of the Bible tells us that God didn't make us to die, but to live. A lesson could be to respect and value life.

Julie South [00:14:44]:
And one way that we can do this, what I hear there, is to look after ourselves, so that God can see that we are investing in ourselves because we take our own life seriously. This means looking after our health. It means being kind to ourselves and to others. It could also mean standing up for those who are being treated unfairly, who are on the outside, who are being marginalised where life doesn't appear to be a serious, valuable thing in the world that they live in. And then from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians here he's telling the Corinthians to be good at giving as they are at everything else. This could get us thinking. It gets me thinking about how generous. Generous am I asking me how generous am I now? It doesn't have to be about money.

Julie South [00:15:51]:
It could be about time. I remember my father in law when he was alive, he said that when he was retired, he said that the only thing he had lots of was his time. And he was happy to be absolutely generous with it because God had given it to him. How generous are we with our time, with our skills? What has God given us that we can give to others to help others? What can you do? Think about one way that you can give more. Maybe you can spend time helping out a friend. Maybe it could be a financial donation to a good cause. Or maybe do something nice for a neighbour. Maybe let somebody go ahead of you in the supermarket.

Julie South [00:16:47]:
Be generous. It's about generosity. And then in Mark, in this part of the Bible, we hear about two people who are healed because they believe in Jesus. And this teaches us me to trust that God helps us even when we are struggling. So how can we trust God even when the going gets hard, even when we are struggling? We have to have the faith that God knows what's best for us, that he has something wonderful lined up for us. It's actually okay to ask for help when we're not feeling well, physically or mentally. In a nutshell, in short, what we have today is we're being invited to recognize God's amazingness, his majesty, and to live for him to have faith in Jesus when we are in the thick of the storms that we find ourselves, and to share the good news, we're invited to call on God in our times of pain, anguish. 0800 God, help me to allow God's love to transform us.

Julie South [00:18:13]:
When we have faith in him, he can heal us if we let him in ways far better than we could imagine. So what about you? What was God saying to you through these passages? Please let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts and your reflections. You can get hold of me@yourcatholiccorner.com there's a form there where you can send me a message I would love to hear. I promise to respond. I hope you found today interesting and helpful in your spiritual journey. My prayer is that this podcast will help deepen your understanding of God's word and all that is beautiful about the catholic faith, even if it's just a teeny, tiny, incis dinky little bit. Thank you for spending this time with God and me.

Julie South [00:19:20]:
If you enjoyed the show, I would be ever so grateful and so would God, if you could help spread the word about your catholic corner so that we can do our bit to evangelise today. All you have to do is ask your friends, and maybe even your catholic priest to visit your catholiccorner.com with three friends whom you think might benefit wherever you are in your journey. I pray that God's love will fill your heart to overflowing and that when the time is right, you'll embrace his invitation to to join him at the table of the Eucharist in your local parish. And finally, a huge shout out to the parishioners of the cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, New Zealand for their support in making this podcast special. This is Julie south signing off until next week. Peace be with you. God bless.