Friday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Saint Callistus, Pope, Martyr
Ephesians 1:11-14 | Psalm 32:1-2,4-5,12-13 | Luke 12:1-7
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1)
Yeast is a remarkable microorganism. It’s the magic ingredient that makes the wonderful stout I had with my very first meal in Ireland…
<munch> <chug> <munch> <chug> Ahhhhh. <burp>
…and the intoxicating fire-water that is whiskey…
Aw man, there’s only one dram left?
Oh wait, there’s another bottle…
…and the leavened bread at every table…
Warm and fluffy, and the soup’s good too.
…and the Marmite that some love to spread on that bread (not me).
But give yeast too much freedom, and the results aren’t good. A master brewer learns just when to stop yeast in its tracks, lest it convert all the available sugars into an unpleasant-tasting moonshine. Fungal attacks are also quite unpleasant: vaginal yeast infections and athlete’s foot come to mind.
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Yeast also has a remarkable ability to “pump up” bread to stupendous sizes, without adding substance, or weight, or strength. In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses this aspect of yeast as a metaphor for the Pharisees’ hypocrisy: mechanically obeying Mosaic law without letting their hearts be touched, looking like shining bastions of faith and righteousness, but in reality just gilded shells full of themselves.
We too run the risk of becoming “yeast for our times”, if we mechanically do the things we think scripture and the Catechism “command” us to do, without letting God in and letting Him transform us. When others point to us and say “now that’s a good Catholic”, can we honestly say “thank you for your kind words, but to God be the glory now and forever”?
As the Jubilee Year of Mercy enters its final months, let us encourage each other to take in the Holy Spirit, sent to be our Advocate of Truth and Love. Let us allow ourselves to be fired up with love for the people we meet each day, to let mercy flow out from us to others on a daily basis, and not to leave our compassion by the wayside when this Jubilee Year ends.
Otherwise, we become the very people we have been encouraged to pray for on the final day of the Divine Mercy novena: souls who have become lukewarm and indifferent.
Lord, You showed to us the depths of True Mercy, giving Your all to save us all. Give us the love and courage to find the spark of that Mercy that is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and to share the warmth of that love with those around us, especially the cold, the hungry and the lonely. Amen.
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Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows. (Luke 12:7)