10-Minute Catholic Bible Study

Sunday, June 27, 2027 · Year B

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Little girl, I say to you, arise!

The Raising of the Daughter of Jairus, by Gabriel von Max
The Raising of the Daughter of Jairus, Gabriel von Max, 1881

Wisdom teaches that God did not make death; He formed us to be imperishable. Jairus begs Jesus to save his dying daughter. On the way, a woman who has suffered twelve years touches His cloak and is healed. Then Jesus takes the dead girl’s hand: “Talitha koum,” little girl, arise.

Mass Readings

  • First Reading Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
  • Responsorial Psalm Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
  • Second Reading 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15
  • Gospel Mark 5:21-43

Open the Mass Readings on USCCB.org →

First Reading Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. He formed man to be imperishable, in the image of His own nature, but by the envy of the devil death entered the world.

Psalm Psalm 30

I will praise You, Lord, for You have rescued me.

Second Reading 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

Though Christ was rich, He became poor for your sake, so that by His poverty you might become rich. Let your abundance supply the needs of others, so that there may be equality.

Gospel Mark 5:21-43

Jairus, a synagogue official, begs Jesus to come to his dying daughter. A woman with a hemorrhage for twelve years touches His cloak and is healed; Jesus tells her, “Your faith has saved you.” News comes that the girl has died. Jesus says, “Do not be afraid; just have faith,” takes her by the hand and raises her.

Step Into the Story

The Book of Wisdom was written in Greek, probably in Alexandria in the first century B.C., for Jews living amid the dazzle of Hellenistic culture. Its claim is bold: God did not make death; it entered the world “by the envy of the devil.” Paul, writing around 56 A.D., urges Corinth to give to his collection for the poor of Jerusalem. Christ, he says, became poor for our sake.

  1. 1st c. B.C.Wisdom written in Alexandria
  2. 4 B.C.Antipas rules Galilee
  3. 14 A.D.Tiberius becomes emperor
  4. c. 20 A.D.Antipas founds Tiberias
  5. This week’s scene: c. 28 A.D.Jairus begs for his daughter

Stand on the beach on the Galilean shore, likely around 28 A.D., as Jesus steps out of the boat and the crowd closes around Him. Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, pushes through and falls at His feet: his twelve-year-old daughter is dying. Jesus goes with him, and you go too, carried along in a crush of elbows and shoulders. Somewhere in it, a woman who has bled for twelve years, ruined by doctors’ fees, reaches for His cloak.

Messengers meet you on the road: the girl is dead. Keep walking. At the house, hear the commotion before you see it: the wailing and the shrill flutes of hired mourners. He puts them all out. Stay by the door with Peter, James and John, and the girl’s mother and father. Look at the small still form on the mat, and wait.

Encounter the Lord

Push through the crowd with Jairus. Every second counts. Then Jesus stops: “Who touched my clothes?” A trembling woman falls at His feet. While He speaks with her, messengers arrive: “Your daughter has died.”

Jesus turns to Jairus: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He goes into the house, takes the girl’s hand, and says, “Little girl, arise.” The woman touched Him in faith; the girl was touched by Him in death. Both were restored. The Wisdom reading says God did not make death. In Jesus, death is no longer the end but a passage, as St. Thérèse said on her deathbed: “I am entering life.”

This week, bring to Jesus someone you love who is sick or grieving. Reach out in faith, touch the hem of His cloak in prayer, and if you can, visit or call that person.

Know Your Faith

Catechism
YOUCAT
  • 154·what happens to us when we die
  • 155·how Christ helps us at our death
  • 156·what eternal life is

Jesus Raises the Dead

By raising the dead, Jesus announced His own Resurrection, though these were restorations to earthly life (CCC 646). His miracles are signs that the kingdom is present and that He is the Messiah (CCC 547-549).

Death Transformed

God did not make death; it entered the world through sin (CCC 1008). Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (CCC 1010).

The Meaning of Christian Death

In death God calls man to Himself. The Christian can desire death like St. Paul, and can transform his own death into an act of obedience and love toward the Father (CCC 1011). For those who die in Christ, life is changed, not ended (CCC 1012).

A New Heaven and a New Earth

At the end of time the kingdom of God will come in its fullness, and the universe itself will be renewed (CCC 1042-1043).

Key Takeaways

  • Scripture
  • Doctrine
  • Sacraments
  • Christian Life
  1. Doctrine: God did not create death; it entered the world through sin.
  2. Doctrine: Jesus has power over sickness and death.
  3. Doctrine: For those who belong to Christ, death is the passage to eternal life.
  4. Christian Life: Faith means reaching out to Jesus with trust, even when things seem hopeless.

Test Your Knowledge

True or false? Tap your answer.

  1. The Book of Wisdom says God did not make death.

    True.

  2. Jairus was a Roman centurion.

    False: he was a synagogue official.

  3. The woman had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years.

    True.

  4. Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you.”

    True.

  5. “Talitha koum” means “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

    True.

  6. The girl Jesus raised would never die again.

    False: she returned to ordinary earthly life, CCC 646.

  7. The Catechism teaches that Christian death has a positive meaning because of Christ.

    True.

  8. Under the Law, the woman’s illness made her ritually unclean.

    True.

  9. Paul says Christ became poor for our sake so that we might become rich.

    True.

  10. Jesus allowed the whole crowd into the girl’s room.

    False: He took only her parents and Peter, James and John.

Answers: 1 T · 2 F (he was a synagogue official) · 3 T · 4 T · 5 T · 6 F (she returned to ordinary earthly life, CCC 646) · 7 T · 8 T · 9 T · 10 F (He took only her parents and Peter, James and John)

Journal Prompts

  1. Where do I need to hear Jesus say, “Do not be afraid; just have faith”?

  2. How do I think about my own death? What would change if I saw it as entering life?

  3. Whom do I know who needs the healing touch of Christ?

  4. How can my abundance supply someone else’s need this week?

Talk to God

Lord Jesus, You took the dead girl by the hand and raised her up. Take my hand when I am afraid. Heal those I love who are sick, comfort the grieving, and lead me through death into eternal life. Amen.