What Is Hidden
Sometimes things are not as simple as they appear or sound.
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." Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world." - Matthew 13:33-35
The message in today's Gospel reading is often lost, not because it is difficult to understand, but because it is viewed as something simple. A woman is making bread, using yeast.
I grew up with women in the family making bread this way, so it seems normal to me to talk about it and to compare the Kingdom of God to such a loving act as cooking for the family. And who doesn't love the smell of bread baking?
It is that simplicity that makes this analogy all the more intriguing.
In the same reading, we have the parable of the mustard seed that grows into a huge tree that can hold the nests of birds. There again, it sounds right, but the mustard plant does not grow that large, so Jesus is stretching reality on purpose.
And he has done it again with the woman, the yeast and the measures of flour.
He is challenging the thinking of the time, using a woman to portray the architect of the kingdom, rather than a high priest, a man, someone revered and respected.
Yeast was often used to talk about evil and corruption, infecting an entire loaf with a small amount.
And the three measures would have been enough to bake enough bread to feed an entire village, with some left over. The amount of work it would take to knead the dough would have been unthinkable.
So, in this simple statement, he has brought the unimaginable to life, revealing hidden meaning in such a simple act as baking bread.
The fact that one only bakes bread to feed her family is an excellent way of looking at God, to whom we pray for our daily bread.
So, as we go through out day, let us look for the deeper meaning in the simple acts of love we find, the making of bread, the holding of a hand, the smile, the kiss.
It is for these things that we live, and it is through these things that we gain the strength to keep going on, through thick and thin.
Oh, and hand me a piece of that warm bread. I have the butter waiting.
More to come...