Leaven

This is my sermon outline for our second Lenten Soupper Service, held on March 15, 2017. It is based upon the Parable of the Leaven from Luke's Gospel.


Luke 13:20-21
And again (Jesus) said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God?  It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

• Jesus gives another short parable comparing the kingdom of God to yeast that leavens flour
• But you’re not wondering about that, you’re wondering about the shirt I'm wearing
  • Having heard me sing, how could I wear an “LTSG Choir” sweatshirt? -- Easy, I ordered it
    • I ordered it because, in the fashion from when I went there, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, is closing at the end of this school year
      • It is merging with the seminary in Philadelphia to form the United Lutheran Seminary
      • It is a new venture which should better serve the church & its students
    • Ordered because one of my favorite professors, Dr. Stephen Folkemer, isn’t going to be on the new faculty
      • He is the professor of Church Music and the Seminary Cantor – He also invited me to join the LTSG Choir, which he directs
      • If you’ve been subjected to my singing, I’m sorry, you may wonder why would he want you in his choir?
      • He believes that with training and work, anyone can become a good singer – I took that as a challenge
      • He thought if you’re surrounded by quality singers, who are on pitch & on the right note, you can eventually learn to get there on your own
        • His idea is summarized in this parable

• You may think of the point of the parable that one bad apple spoils the whole bunch + My singing is bad, but not that bad
  • But yeast, even just a little bit, once introduced to flour will change it
    • It cannot be what it once was, it changes it
    • But only in flour can leaven achieve it’s purpose
• But there are some details that we miss because we are not of the culture that Jesus was
  • The Jewish people did not use leaven often
    • Most of their bread was flat bread, unleavened
    • Many of their traditions were based upon their history as nomadic peoples, wandering in the dessert, having to take the Promised Land, being conquered and exiled
      • For bread to be properly leavened, it takes hours
      • Periods of the church year, esp. around Passover, leaven is forbidden
      • Only use yeast when you know you’re going to be in a stable situation
  • 3 measures of flour in our mind isn’t 3 measures in this tradition
    • You hear 3 measures of flour and may translate that to 3 cups – a saton is almost 5 GALLONS of flour
      • 3 measures of flour makes enough bread to feed 150
      • I’m not a baker, but how long would it take, by hand, to mix the leaven, which by the way, we translate as yeast, but it isn’t yeast. The Jewish people used fermented dough – sourdough to make their non-flat bread
      • This isn’t an Ooops, I dropped some yeast into 3 cups of flour, guess I’m making bread today
        • This is planning on mixing dough

• The kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, is an inclusive community
  • It welcomes in the stranger, the refugee, the unknown neighbor
  • It invites the least, the last, the lost, the little ones & the alone to have a seat at the table
  • It accepts the sinner, the enemy, the disreputable
  • It provides hospitality no matter the color, orientation, origin, gender, finances, history, education, or ability of the guest
  • It realizes it will be changed by the inclusion of the leaven
    • But it realizes that in this new, beloved community, the leaven will be transformed
• The kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, is transformative
  • When you add a leavening agent to flour, which is transformed, the yeast or the flour?
    • They both are – they are not the same anymore
    • Surrounding a bad singer with good singers doesn’t just change the bad singer
      • It allows the good singers to become teachers, they learn to be supportive and forgiving
    • It turns two rival seminaries into one, even though the outcome is unknown
    • It brings three churches together to cooperate & collaborate, while maintaining their own identities
• The kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, takes work
  • Mixing 15 gallons of flour by hand has to be hard work
    • Then you have to cut the dough and bake it
• The kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, can be delicious
  • It sustains. It provides. It nourishes.
  • Thank God for those who work the dough, mixing & distributing the various ingredients, to make it come forth.