Yeast is a remarkable thing. It is seemingly insignificant, yet when added to a mixture of flour, water, sugar, and a little salt, and then given a little time, the yeast transforms the whole into a wondrous substance that is ready to be baked into a delicious loaf of bread. And this, our Lord says to us today, is what the Kingdom of God is like.
We, the Christian people, are called to be that leaven in the world to be—by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by any other power—a transforming presence in society. Saint Paul’s exhortation about married life in today’s first reading offers an example. For without the work of grace, the relationship between man and woman can easily slip into one of several deformations. If the relationship is based more on lust and pleasure than anything else, then the man and the woman simply use one another, and the flame will certainly die out. Or else one party may try to dominate the other—the man dominates the woman, or the woman dominates the man. But a marriage that is rooted in true charity, in the mutual subordination of each spouse that Paul speaks of, is a powerful witness to Christlike love in the world. And as such, it is a leavening presence in society, quietly transforming the world.
Today, let us meditate on this leaven-like power of grace working through the relationship between man and woman. And let us pray for Christian families, that they may be open to the workings of the Spirit through them and be that leavening presence in society, especially in a world where Christian marriage is not at all the norm.