First Hope
Piety
In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. Ephesians 1:11-12
"Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.” Luke 12:1
Study
St. Paul addresses the Ephesians and counts himself among those “who first hoped.” That reference probably includes the Jewish Christians (when contrasted with Eph 1:13, where Paul refers to “you, the Gentiles”). It also can include the people of Israel: “we who already enjoyed the hope of Christ,” or perhaps present hope in contrast to future redemption.
But the contrast sets up the dichotomy between those who believe in the redemption brought by Christ and those who do not. This is then the reference in the Good News to the corruptive action of leaven.
Leavening flour with yeast was an apt symbol of the evil dispositions both of the Pharisees and of Herod toward Jesus. The disciples of Jesus are warned against sharing such rebellious attitudes toward Jesus. “A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.”
Yeast, which induces fermentation, is a natural symbol for a source of corruption that becomes all-pervasive. Paul also addresses the theme this way to Corinth:
Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 COR 5:7-8
Therefore, our Communion feast is uncorrupted theologically as well as in the breaking of unleavened (uncorrupted) bread.
In the sacrifice of every Mass, we do not use regular bread. No Wonder Bread. No Pepperidge Farm Whole Wheat. No Levy’s Jewish Rye. We use bread baked without a leavening agent.
For Catholic Mass, bread has to be made from wheat and water with no yeast and no additional ingredients. I attended a small, Catholic college where students made the bread used at our campus ministry Mass. It added meaning that this was made by our hands and not from some outside source. “What earth has given and human hands have made…”
The reason why Catholics celebrate an unleavened Eucharist is very simple. We just never changed it from the day of the last supper, the Passover Seder. Jesus’ body is all the rising we need.
When you bake regular bread, you typically add yeast to help the dough ferment and rise. It adds air and lightness. Leaven also is something that makes a situation or mood less serious. Leaven implies introducing something that enlivens, tempers, or markedly alters the total quality. It modifies something or transforms it for the better.
Action
Our word “leaven” comes from the Latin levare to raise. Yeast helps the raising of the bread. We don’t need any yeast at Mass. We need it when we go into the world. We have a simple machine called the lever. When else did we talk about a lever on your Cursillo weekend? Palanca! Palanca is the Spanish word for the lever. Not only is prayer and sacrifice a Palanca or lever. You are Palanca. You are leaven (rhymes with heaven). When you “leaven” your environment with your action, you bring the church to life!
What “bad yeast” do we have to clear out to help us celebrate the feast? How will you team up to leaven your environments with Christ as your perfect partner, your first hope and your leaven -- not the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the world?
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