Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where you read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started! Today is Monday, October 12th, and we’re still taking time to read through the Bible.
Here we go, Mark 6.
Departing from that district, Jesus went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.
On the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue.
Many of those who heard him asked in amazement, Where did this man get all this?
What is this wisdom that he has been granted?
What mighty deeds he performs! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and John and Judas and Simon?
Are not his sisters here with us?
And so they took offense at him.
And Jesus said to them, A prophet is always treated with honor, except his hometown and among relatives and in his own house.
And he was unable to perform any mighty works there, aside from curing a few sick people and laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Jesus traveled through the villages preaching, calling the twelve together.
He began to send them out two by two with authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for their journey except a walking staff, no bread, no sack, no money in their purses.
They were to wear sandals, but not to take along a second tunic.
He said to them, Whenever you enter a house, you are to stay there until you leave that area.
And if they will not welcome you and refuse to listen to you, leave them immediately and shake off the dust that is on your feet in testimony against them.
Then they set off and preached the need for repentance.
They cast out many demons and they anointed with oil many people who were sick and cured them.
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’s name had become renowned, and some people were saying John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why such powers are at work with him.
But others said, He is Elijah, while still others proclaimed, He is a prophet, like the ones prophets of old.
But when Herod heard of it, he said, John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead.
It was this same Herod who ordered John to be arrested and put in chains in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her.
For John had told Herod, It is unlawful for you to have your brother’s wife.
As for Herodias, she was filled with resentment against John and wanted to have him killed, but she was unable to do so because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a holy and righteous man.
Therefore he protected him from harm.
When he heard John speak, he was greatly perplexed by his words, but even so he liked to listen to him.
Her opportunity came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his court officials and military officers and the leaders of Galilee.
When the daughter of Herodias came in, she performed a dance and delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl, Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.
And he solemnly swore to her, Whatever you ask, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.
The girl went out and said to her mother, What shall I ask for?
She replied, The head of John the Baptist.
The girl then hurried back to the king and made her request, I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
The king was greatly distressed, but because of the oath he had sworn and the presence of the guests, he was unwilling to break his word to her.
Therefore, he immediately ordered an executor to bring him John’s head.
The man went off and beheaded him in the prison.
Then he brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and removed his body and laid it in a tomb.
The apostles returned to Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught.
He said to them, Come away with me by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while.
For people continued to come and go in great numbers, and they had no time even to eat.
And so they went by themselves in a boat to a deserted place.
Now many people saw them departing and recognized them, and they hurried over there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.
As Jesus went ashore and behind the vast crowd, he had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
When it began to be late this day, his disciples came up to him and said, This is a deserted place.
It is getting very late.
Send the people away now so that they can go to the farms and villages in the area and buy something for themselves to eat.
He replied, Give them something to eat yourselves.
They said to him, Are we going to go spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat?
He asked, How many loaves do you have?
Go and see.
When they found out, they reported five loaves and two fish.
Then he ordered them to all have the people sit down on the green grass in groups.
They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties, taking the five loaves and two fish.
He looked up to heaven, blessed the loaves and gave it to the disciples to distribute among the people.
He also divided the two fish among them.
They all ate and were all satisfied.
And when they gathered up the fragments of the bread and fish, twelve full baskets.
Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.
Immediately afterward, Jesus instructed his disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida on the other side of the lake, while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them, he went to the mountain to pray.
When evening came, the boat was far out into the water, while he was alone on the shore.
He could see that the disciples were having difficulty in rowing the boat in the face of the headwind.
Among the fourth watch of the night, he came towards them walking on the water.
He was going to pass them, but when the disciples saw him walking on the water, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they have all seen him and were terrified.
But immediately he spoke to them, saying, Have courage, it is I.
Do not be afraid.
Then he got into the boat with them and the wind died down, and they were utterly astounded, for they had not understood about the loaves; their minds were closed.
After they had completed the crossing, they landed in Gennesaret and moored the boat.
When they disembarked, the people recognized Jesus immediately, and they rushed throughout the entire countryside and began to bring the sick to him on pallets wherever they heard he was.
Everywhere he went, wherever the village or town or courtside, he laid the sick on the marketplace and begged them to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were completely healed.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, thank you for all those before and after Jesus that take time to share your love.
And thank you for creative ways and ideas to share your love.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back tomorrow scattering more flowers.
See ya.