"Again JESUS said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
In today’s gospel passage, the Lord gives us a unique metaphor. The Kingdom of God is like “yeast.” Yeast! I have a fear of yeast – seriously. It’s alive. You can’t just dump it into the flour and expect it to work. You must be mindful of the temperature of the water and the time needed for the yeast to awaken. You can’t work the dough too hard or to little. If you manage to do all this right, then you still have to let it nap for a while before it goes into the oven. Yeast is complicated stuff. It makes me a nervous wreck.
Why, then, am I fixated on it this morning? I can’t stop thinking about the last verse: “until the whole batch was leavened.” There’s something wonderful here that I just can’t get my head around. My heart, though, feels the truth in this metaphor. GOD will never give up on us. The Kingdom will come in its fullness only when the leaven of peace, justice and compassion have permeated the world.
Have you ever felt the Kingdom coming? I have. I have felt the Kingdom coming when a young woman with Downs Syndrome proclaimed the Word at the Sunday Eucharist. I have felt it coming in a moment of true forgiveness…true reconciliation with my sister. I have felt it coming in the gift of hope when faced with a fearful, impossible reality. I think we get glimpses of the Kingdom so that we can continue kneading the dough, working the yeast of Christ’s love into the whole world.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened."
In today’s gospel passage, the Lord gives us a unique metaphor. The Kingdom of God is like “yeast.” Yeast! I have a fear of yeast – seriously. It’s alive. You can’t just dump it into the flour and expect it to work. You must be mindful of the temperature of the water and the time needed for the yeast to awaken. You can’t work the dough too hard or to little. If you manage to do all this right, then you still have to let it nap for a while before it goes into the oven. Yeast is complicated stuff. It makes me a nervous wreck.
Why, then, am I fixated on it this morning? I can’t stop thinking about the last verse: “until the whole batch was leavened.” There’s something wonderful here that I just can’t get my head around. My heart, though, feels the truth in this metaphor. GOD will never give up on us. The Kingdom will come in its fullness only when the leaven of peace, justice and compassion have permeated the world.
Have you ever felt the Kingdom coming? I have. I have felt the Kingdom coming when a young woman with Downs Syndrome proclaimed the Word at the Sunday Eucharist. I have felt it coming in a moment of true forgiveness…true reconciliation with my sister. I have felt it coming in the gift of hope when faced with a fearful, impossible reality. I think we get glimpses of the Kingdom so that we can continue kneading the dough, working the yeast of Christ’s love into the whole world.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
