Talk by Clare

I have always loved making things. When I was a girl, I remember being given flour, water, and salt, which my grandmother and I would then use to make glue for crafts, papier mache, or salt dough. Turning these into simple ingredients into painted figures and such like. I loved doing this with her, but the resulting creations were not something I would have wanted to eat.

If, however, you take those very same ingredients and add yeast, instead of a sticky grey glue, you get that most wonderful of things, which has sustained humanity for millennia: bread!

Jesus tells us in our Gospel reading, that the Kingdom of God is like that yeast. But what does that really mean? Well, faith, and striving to create the values of the kingdom of God here on earth, can transform our lives and communities, in the way that yeast transforms flour, water, and salt into life-sustaining food. Just like yeast, faith, and developing the values of the Kingdom here on Earth, need care and nurturing, particularly at the beginning.

The decision by Jesus to include a parable referencing yeast is interesting in itself as the Greek term for yeast, zyme, is actually a loan word from Hebrew. Most of the times where yeast is mentioned in the Bible, it is as a corrupting influence. We need to remember that for Jewish people at the time of Jesus, the most important bread they consumed during the year was at Passover, and it had to be unleavened, that meant not containing a even tiny trace of yeast. If there was any in it at all, then the resulting bread could not be eaten during Passover, and a person doing so would be breaking the dietary Kosher laws. In Corinthians and Galatians, Paul even compares the need to clean out yeast, to a man being unfaithful with his father’s wife. Explaining that the community needs to be cleansed of such sin in the way that it is necessary to get rid of old dough, as even a small amount of yeast can ruin a batch of bread. Matthew’s gospel also uses yeast in a negative sense when he warns his disciples of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Here in this parable, Jesus is using yeast in a totally different way. Here it is a positive force, something which if you’ve ever used fresh yeast in baking bread, looks insignificant, yet transforms all of the flour. Some theologians also suggest that Matthew is deliberately recording Jesus’ use of yeast in this positive way here, because at that time, religious leaders we’re accusing Jesus of being a corrupting influence, as yeast corrupts the Passover bread. Jesus is explaining that yeast can be a positive thing, and whilst yeast can be corrupting in certain contexts, it has the potential to be truly wonderful, and life giving.

Baking bread has been important in my family since my great grandfather was a baker in London, and then Portsmouth. I remember as a little girl my mother handing down his bread making knowledge to me in turn. Explaining that for yeast to work, particularly in its natural form (remember, at the time of Jesus, quick activating dried yeast certainly wasn’t available) the water needs to be at the correct temperature, and if you simply pile the salt on top of the yeast, it will likely die – remember yeast is a living substance! Instead, the flour, water, salt and yeast need to be combined carefully, nurtured by kneeling, and then allowed space to rest and grow. What will then result is a strong, enjoyable and nourishing loaf.

The other amazing property of yeast is that what initially seems insignificant and fragile if used incorrectly, once it begins its work, it becomes very hardy indeed. in order to properly make bread, the dough needs to be worked. If you have ever made bread by hand, you know that it takes quite a lot of force and strength to knead the dough for long enough, turning, and squeezing, even smash it into the surface, and then to shape it. This action doesn’t destroy the power of the yeast, it distributes it throughout all of the flower. Even after the roughest of kneading, the yeast remains alive, and hidden. Following the kneading, the dough is most active during its time of rest. The yeast power is revealed when the dough rises. Some recipes even require multiple periods of rest and kneading. In a similar way, faith often develops in stages, and there may be times when our faith seems distant, but it is still there, working away at us, without being visible.

Like the other things mentioned in the parables, where fragile seeds yield a hundredfold, and a mustard seed becomes a tree. The yeast’s power to transform is exceptional! What we might miss from the parable today, when we usually buy a loaf of bread ready-made is that the three measures of flour in Matthew’s gospel, properly combined with a small amount of yeast, would make enough bread to feed approximately 100 people. This echoes the impact of the mission of Jesus, from the perspective of Matthew. Jesus’ ministry was threatened at birth by Herod’s threats, then in adulthood continue to face opposition, yet despite these beginnings Jesus would be triumphant even over death.

So, what does this parable mean for us? In the same way when making bread, we need to pay attention to how we nurture the yeast of faith, and the kingdom of God, in ourselves, each other, and our communities. Doing so with care and attention, and importantly, allowing God the time and space to do his work in our lives. If we do that the results can be truly remarkable! Throughout our lives, God’s transforming power can be hidden in the simplest of things or work on us during some of our most difficult times. We may not see the effect of it whilst these events are working themselves through, but their impact at the point when we can breathe and rest, are there waiting to act.

If we provide the right conditions and allow space for God in our lives, consider how much more transformative that could be. So, I will leave you with a question, where are you leaving the space for God to work like yeast in your life? Amen. 

Yours in Christ Rev Clare.