I
love Jesus’ parables. And one of the things I love about them is how edgy they
typically are. We sometimes miss the edges because we don’t know enough about
the culture. But almost always, if we probe beneath the surface, we find a
surprising and challenging message.
One
of the best examples of this, in my view, is the parable of the yeast (Matt
13:33). 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. That’s it!
On
a quick reading, the point is that the kingdom spreads and eventually effects
everything. That is already a good message. But the edge comes when we pay
attention to the cultural significance of yeast. At Passover, the Hebrew people
are commanded to eat only unleavened bread. Somehow the leaven, the yeast, is
corrupting. Yeast is not exactly unclean. But it is to be avoided at a holy
time.
Now
here Jesus is, using yeast as a symbol for the kingdom of heaven! It is as if
the kingdom itself is somehow tainting. What are we supposed to do with that!
I
assume that the point is that the kingdom does not look super-pious and only
include the super-righteous. The kingdom of heaven turns out to include
tax-collectors and sinners and prostitutes and ordinary women who bake bread at
least as much as Pharisees and priests and the outwardly holy. All Church
people should take note!
The
good news in this is that we don’t have to be perfectly holy. All of us fall
short; all of us have a little leaven in our lives. So it is a mighty good
thing that the kingdom includes yeast after all!
No comments:
Post a Comment