The Leaven

Watch out!

14 They had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 [a]He enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. 17 When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered [him], “Seven.” 21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”-Mark8:14-21

What is the leaven of the Pharisees? What is the leaven of Herod? The leaven of the Pharisees are the ways that one should not imitate. Herod represents the world, and so the leaven of Herod are the worldly ways that one should not imitate. The Pharisees are not bad individuals, perhaps, they lack a few virtues to put it mildly. Herod, despite his wickedness, perhaps has a little ounce of goodness in him. Some of the leaven or the ways of the Pharisees that we should watch out for are: hypocrisy, condemning or judging others, separating ourselves from those who are not our "equal," stubbornness of heart which powers narrow-mindedness. While some of the leaven or the ways of Herod that we should watch out for are: injustice, immorality, greed for temporal goods (wealth, power, ambition and fame), disregard for holiness. The leaven of the Pharisees and Herod can be summarized into a few words only - absence or lack of love. Jesus is constantly inviting us to return to Him by shedding away the old self, and putting on the cloak of His love.

Image courtesy: artist

What fool!

Death is inevitable. We cannot bring to heaven the many material things we stored up for ourselves.

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”-Luke12:13-21

As I reflected, I saw two characters worth pondering. The man who asked Jesus for a favor regarding their inheritance, and the man who planned so many things only to die that very night.

Jesus is full of wisdom. No one is at par with Him when it comes to understanding the wisdom and knowledge of the Father.

Regarding the first man, perhaps if anybody heard his request about inheritance, any person would have said, "Sure." or "I'll try." But Jesus probes the mind and searches the heart. His answer was, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?... Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” It is most likely that Jesus knew that there is no extreme need at all, because if there is one, Jesus would have helped. Instead, He warned everybody about greed - possessing material things more than what is needed. Yes, we all have the tendency to be greedy and to "keep up with the Joneses."

Despite having a nice house, we still want another house. Despite having a nice car, we still want another car. Despite having a nice party already, we plan another grand party to "keep up with the Joneses." The more we accumulate, the more we buy unimportant things just to be at par or to keep up with our neighbors, and worse, we lose the true meaning of life. It is nice to own some things. It is a good sign that we work hard so that we can provide better for our family and to give good gifts to our loved ones "just like those of the Joneses." But it is another thing to be driven by greed and attachment to material things. It is another thing if we are slaves of material and worldly goods and selfishness.

Notice that the second man has so much focus on himself alone. There are many "I" "Me" "Myself" or "Mine" in his thoughts and plans. There is more to life than resting, eating, drinking and being merry. Actually, God does not say these acts are wrong at all. At the same time, Jesus does not encourage workaholism as well.

We are created after the image and likeness of God. Since God is love, then we are created to love as well. Our very existence should revolve around loving God and our neighbor. But it doesn't mean we just sit around, resting, drinking, eating and merrying with them only, but to work also since we are stewards of God's creation. And while we do these things, we bear in mind that life is transitory. If we work to have a better life and save something in the bank, we should work also for the "life ahead" and "deposit" something in our account in "heaven's treasury." What work and act should we do? If we know how to love God and our neighbor, this love will tell us what to do.

Photo by: Jim Janknegt (Rich Fool); Allan Sanders (Keeping up with the Joneses); unknown artist