Word to the Wise
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - Tuesday in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eph 5:21-33 and Luke 13:18-21]To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.....
This past Saturday I baked some bread. The recipe called for about 8 cups of flour to produce four loaves of bread. The amount of yeast called for was one tablespoon. It wasn't easy to mix and knead that dough by hand. Jesus speaks of three "measures," which one commentary assures me is about 190 cups! An article in the Houston newspaper about a new local bakery spoke in terms of thousands of pounds of flour per week. Yet, the secret, if one might call it that, is in the "starter" which is a small mixture of flour, water and yeast. The owners of that bakery have kept their original starter going. (I learned in my Kentucky years that the same principle of a "starter" is used in making good bourbon whiskey!).
A little yeast goes a long way even in a large batch of flour! St. Paul calls attention to this principle in 1 Cor. 5:6: "Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough." This may be a proverb similar to our "One bad apple spoils the whole barrel!" but unlike the apple image, the yeast idea is positive and meant for Christians to realize that the contribution of each person is important to the whole world of preaching the gospel. If we get together with others, we can create a "starter" that can last a long time in a parish. It simply needs to be "fed" with the continual addition of dedicated folks. We cannot afford the thought,"I'm just one person. What can I do?" The response is "Get started." AMEN