Hope in the Baker

Scripture: He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened." Matthew 13:33

Observation: The concept of this parable is basic for those who understand ... even just a tiny amount of yeast can work its way throughout a large batch of bread. Yeast is a living organism - a domesticated animal if you will - that feeds on sugars and produces gases, with the net affect being in bread that is causes the bread to rise, giving it a soft texture, improved baking quality, and even a special flavor character.

But in this parable, the amount of bread being made is ... massive! By today's standards, this would make approximately 60 loaves of bread, or (guestimating) 1,200 slices of bread. This is possible from just a tiny bit of yeast, because as the yeast is worked into the dough, it reproduces and grows and moves and transforms the other ingredients. And in the day of Jesus, this would have been very hard for the woman to do! She would have had to be very intentional that she was making this much bread. This isn't a family-size batch of bread, but more like the city's bakery. This is work ... its a job-size effort.

This is the depth of the parable. The kingdom of heaven isn't just like a little yeast someone uses to make some bread. The kingdom is like a little yeast that enters into a very, very large setting, spreads and grows making everything around it better and better, nurtured by an expert who is truly working to progress the situation until it is perfect, and in the end influencing the results for a massive environment that far outweighs its microscopic origins.

Application: This is truly the hope I have for the world today ... that what feels like the small messages we can communicate about Jesus within the massively broken culture of the Pacific Northwest will somehow grow and grow and grow until it permeates everything and everywhere, making everything better. This, in fact, is the only way I can find hope in this dark place in the world. This specific culture is so wildly 'unleavened' that the only hope is that the kingdom of heaven will grow like yeast.

The best news - the best part of the hope - is that I am not the baker! I am just one microbe of the yeast, who has the chance to tell others and perhaps reproduce that yeast in them. God is the baker. He is not only working at his purposes, he is doing so expertly, continually, with effort and intentionality. This process isn't an accident, nor is it just being passively watched. The kingdom of heaven is here and the Lord is in control of how it grows. I just have to try to produce a little more yeast by telling others about Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for hope today. We have earthly challenges within our household. They are likely small to you, but every small issue adds into distraction and hardship and stress. Perhaps we can see some yeast multiply today. Amen.