The Parable of the Yeast

Matthew 13:33

33 He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

The amount of flour used in this parable is the most surprising element. “Three measures” is the usual translation for the original Greek “tria sata” which is a little over a bushel of flour (1.125 bushels, to be precise). Translating into kitchen measures, 1.125 bushels is 144 cups of flour. 144 cups is enough to make 52 loaves, each weighing about a pound and a half. That is a huge amount of bread.

The yeast works its way through the whole batter until it all rises. The yeast works its way into every part and corner of the batter. Sliding in and doing its thing. The yeast is small, does not draw attention to itself. No one stands back and looks at the mountain of bread and says, “Look at all that yeast.” No, the yeast is not the center of the attention. The kingdom of heaven quietly, subversively, unseen, does its thing producing abundant change in line with the kingdom of God.

Quietly, unnoticed, and frequently unseen, Christian communities like L’Arche have become communities of care for both the disabled and the abled. Quietly as those communities have lived out the care and love of God, the towns and villages around them have been changed. L’Arche and similar communities quietly, subversively change the way people respond to the disability community. Not loudly, but quietly, often unnoticed.

The kingdom of heaven often is like this, quietly changing things, producing lasting changes in unobtrusive, even subversive ways. We should never think that our personal actions of caring and compassion, of faithfulness and commitment do not matter, people quietly living the Jesus way becomes part of Jesus’ revolution in the transformation of our world to the kingdom of heaven.

PRAYER:

God of wonder and grace, we rejoice that your kingdom comes quietly, unnoticed, as it brings about change and transformation. We and our communities are often changed by your action in ways we do not recognize until we look back and recognize what you have done. Thank you for your subversive, surprising work in the world. Amen.