Monday, August 18, 2003
One of my favorite parables is where Jesus describes
the kingdom of Heaven like the leaven a woman works
into bread dough to make the whole loaf light and
fluffy.
If you've never baked bread, you may not know how this
feels. Before the yeast gets active, that dough is
hard, feeling dead in the hand. But as the yeast and
gluten begin to work together, a change happens. The
dough gets more elastic and pliable. You leave it
alone for an hour or so, come back to work on it again,
and it's light and full of air, and much, much easier
to work. Then when you bake it, it is light and fluffy,
not hard like flatbread, and it has a better taste.
WE - me, you, all those who profess to follow Christ -
are supposed to be like that leaven, making the hard
dough of everyday life filled with the air of Heaven.
As St. Paul says, we are the body of Christ, and thus,
are the conduits, the tools Christ is using on earth.
Of course, if we are not centered in Christ's peace and
joy, it's hard for us to do this. This is our yeast!
Prayer, especially before the Eucharistic Jesus, the
sacraments, the Mass are our ways of being plugged into
the source of all peace and joy.
Then, it's up to us to act like we are conduits for
Jesus. Living in peace with our fellow man -
frequently meaning to be nice to those around us even
when we don't want to!
Following St. Therese's "Little Way" of acting loving
in the little things is my personal goal, which
unfortunately, I seem to always stumble and open my big
mouth the wrong way at times, but I am still trying!
The hardest thing can be recognizing Jesus in, as
Mother Teresa says, "the distressing garb" of whatever
is hard for us to deal with, the poor on the street,
the smartmouthed teenager, the self-satisfied
co-worker, the irritating relative that makes us want
to scream. Learning to treat these people with the
love of Christ is a great way to spread that love in
the world...and no doubt draws us ever closer to Jesus
as well.
O Lord, I pray that I may be open more and more to your
love, to share with those around me. May I not shirk
from dealing with the way you present yourself to me
even when I don't want to!
the kingdom of Heaven like the leaven a woman works
into bread dough to make the whole loaf light and
fluffy.
If you've never baked bread, you may not know how this
feels. Before the yeast gets active, that dough is
hard, feeling dead in the hand. But as the yeast and
gluten begin to work together, a change happens. The
dough gets more elastic and pliable. You leave it
alone for an hour or so, come back to work on it again,
and it's light and full of air, and much, much easier
to work. Then when you bake it, it is light and fluffy,
not hard like flatbread, and it has a better taste.
WE - me, you, all those who profess to follow Christ -
are supposed to be like that leaven, making the hard
dough of everyday life filled with the air of Heaven.
As St. Paul says, we are the body of Christ, and thus,
are the conduits, the tools Christ is using on earth.
Of course, if we are not centered in Christ's peace and
joy, it's hard for us to do this. This is our yeast!
Prayer, especially before the Eucharistic Jesus, the
sacraments, the Mass are our ways of being plugged into
the source of all peace and joy.
Then, it's up to us to act like we are conduits for
Jesus. Living in peace with our fellow man -
frequently meaning to be nice to those around us even
when we don't want to!
Following St. Therese's "Little Way" of acting loving
in the little things is my personal goal, which
unfortunately, I seem to always stumble and open my big
mouth the wrong way at times, but I am still trying!
The hardest thing can be recognizing Jesus in, as
Mother Teresa says, "the distressing garb" of whatever
is hard for us to deal with, the poor on the street,
the smartmouthed teenager, the self-satisfied
co-worker, the irritating relative that makes us want
to scream. Learning to treat these people with the
love of Christ is a great way to spread that love in
the world...and no doubt draws us ever closer to Jesus
as well.
O Lord, I pray that I may be open more and more to your
love, to share with those around me. May I not shirk
from dealing with the way you present yourself to me
even when I don't want to!
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