Beware of the Leaven October 20

“The first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God's possession.” Ephesians 1:14

“Beware of the leaven.” Luke 12:1

Piety

Let us pray: God, you made us and chose us so we can know you and serve you and praise you in this life and be with you forever in Heaven. Be the leaven in our lives. Raise us up to do your works, hear your words and to see and love you in the lives of our sisters and brothers and enemies. Help us to avoid the evil effects of the world and put us on a path to redemption from our many sins through the gifts of your Son Jesus and the seal of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/102006.shtml

Two different images might stick in our imagination after studying today’s readings: economic transactions and bread-making.

Yesterday in the opening of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we learned that Christ was chosen by God and offered up to leave heaven. Today, Paul tells us that we were chosen after him. Just as Christ fulfilled God’s command, we too are chosen to witness and praise God’s glory. The mere fact that we were chosen also entitles us to the seal of the Holy Spirit in baptism.

That seal is “the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession.” Probably all of us have bought something that had to be purchased with a loan or a credit card. Over time, we would pay a little back each month until the debt was retired.

We belong to God more so than any material item we might buy on time or possess. God pays us forward. He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit as the first installment toward redemption from sin. For this and all his gifts, God only seeks to be close to us.

If we do not stay close to God and the gifts we receive, then we can easily be contaminated by the corruption of sin. That is where another meaning of the analogy to the “leaven” comes in. A little yeast induces fermentation in bread dough. This becomes for Luke a natural symbol for a source of corruption that becomes all-pervasive.

Yeast is alive – a living organism that needs food to survive.[1] The yeast feeds on sugar to survive. As the yeast feeds on the sugar, it creates two byproducts—alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is what leavens the bread—carbon dioxide gases filter through the dough helping to raise the bread while it bakes. This yeast requires moisture, food and a hospitable environment to grow.

And what has this to do with us? The heretical ideas of the Pharisees need a yeasty environment in order to spread. Likewise, God seeks to be a part of our lives so he can raise us up and live through our experience.

The choice is ours. What baker do you want to care for you? Do you choose the baker with ideas that will spoil your life or the baker who promises everlasting life?

God chose you…will you repay him with your choice? Or will you be an unrepentant sinner and choose evil.

Is it any wonder then that Christ becomes the Bread of Life? When we take communion, we are giving God a hospitable environment in which to grow.

Action

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Eat some leavened bread and some unleavened bread. Which one tastes better? Which one tastes sweeter?

The challenge today is to create an environment in which it is easy for God to come into your life. What doors do you need to unlock to make that happen?




[1] See an interesting article on yeast at this site: http://www.breadworld.com/sciencehistory/science.asp