The long form of our Gospel today provides us with two miracles which Mark sandwiches together: the raising of Jairus' daughter and the healing of the hemorrhaging woman. Contextualizing these stories in light of Levitical purity laws reveals a deeper message lingering below the surface: not only does Jesus desire to heal us physically but he also wants to restore us spiritually. At the end of the day, the story serves as a spiritual summons to see life's happenings through the eyes of Him who banishes illness and reverses death itself.

In one of his most amazing feats, Jesus sleeps through a mega-storm on the Sea of Galilee. We'll spend our time together uncovering the quite detailed picture archaeology can paint for us about seafaring in first century Palestine and we'll also unveil some fascinating parallels between our Gospel and the Old Testament Book of Jonah. At the end of the day what we discover in our Gospel is not so much a God aloof in the face of our fears but a Son carefree in His trust of the Father and desiring the same for us.

We return to the heart of Mark's Gospel and Our Lord's teaching in our episode today, exploring some of his many parables. What becomes quickly evident in our survey of his teaching is that Jesus' words contain a surface profundity in and of themselves and yet at the same time reveal a depth of meaning that could be sounded for an eternity. Turning to the parables themselves, we'll unveil their subtle allusions to the Old Testament texts, revealing not only a poetic description of the Kingdom of God but a promise of spiritual life and conversion should we open ours ears to hear.

Jesus is in his adoptive hometown of Capernaum, visited by great throngs of both supporters and adversaries. Among the latter are scribes from Jerusalem and members of his own family traveling from Nazareth to confront him. Accused of being possessed by the devil, Our Lord uses the famed “House Divided” parable to put them to shame. Comparing and contrasting the ensuing dialogue, clear parallels emerge that paint Jesus as the mighty victor come to ransack Satan and steal us back for himself should we only be willing to accept His salvation.

Our Gospel this week is packed with hidden gems and secret keys that unlock layers of hidden meaning in Mark's Last Supper account. The Essenes, producers of the famed Dead Sea Scrolls, serve as one of these keys. We'll make the case that Jesus celebrated the Passover with the Essene community in Jerusalem, a thesis that instigates a cascade of implications and we'll end our time together delving into the idea of the Eucharist as a covenant, that is, an exchange of persons that allows God to share himself with us in ever more intimate ways.

Our Gospel today comes from the end of Matthew. Jesus offers the great commission which includes the Trinitarian formula and the all-important summons to Baptism. Turning first and foremost to the Book of Daniel as well as the beginning of Matthew's Gospel we discover that Jesus' reception of authority is a fruit of his self-abasement and total obedience. Looking to the Christian calling with this in mind, we realize that our own lives are meant to be an echo of Christ's obedience the fruit of which is a share in the life of the Trinity, a life of perfect love.

When Luke mentions the feast of Pentecost in our first reading, we can easily gloss over the implication that Pentecost is a Jewish feast. One of four springtime feasts on the Jewish liturgical calendar, Pentecost celebrated both the ingathering of the harvest as well as the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. Comparing and contrasting the first Pentecost with the new Pentecost we discover that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit does indeed bring about a harvest, one that is new and rich in meaning.

Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:

- The agricultural background of the feast of Pentecost

- The clear connections between the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Early Church

- Which Early Church Father coined the phrase “sober intoxication of the spirit”

- The significance of new wine in the Scriptures and why you can’t pour new wine into old wineskins

- How the new law of grace engenders spontaneity

You’ll notice that I talk a lot in the first few minutes about an online Bible study I did on the Book of Acts. To access that head here: https://www.youtube.com/@KatiePatrizio

We break with routine in this episode and focus on the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. In it, we see Jesus giving final instructions to his apostles before he ascends into heaven. Looking at subtle clues left by St. Luke, we discover that at his ascension Jesus takes on both the role of the “Son of Man” found in the Book of Daniel and the role of a new and everlasting high priest who fulfills once and for all by his death, resurrection, and ascension the cultic act of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.

Diving deep into our readings we'll spend our episode looking closer at:

- Who the mysterious “Theophilus” is in our first reading

- The Old and New Testament significance of the 40 days that Jesus spends with the Apostles before his ascension

- Which prophecy in the New Testament was most frequently repeated

- The incredible connection between the Old Testament assumption of Elijah and the New Testament ascension of Jesus

- Who the fourth beast is in the Book of Daniel and its significance for the Early Church

- How our readings coupled with the Letter to the Hebrews show Jesus to be the new and everlasting Jewish High Priest