Jesus often spoke
in parables and metaphors,
describing God,
God’s action in the world,
and our own journey of discipleship
in images and words
that engaged and challenged
the imaginations of his listeners...
and us.
A metaphor is a figure of speech—
a word or phrase that describes
one kind of object
in place of another kind of object,
suggesting a likeness;
a connection;
a similarity.
A pretty girl is like a melody.
He has a heart like a stone.
She’s as happy as a clam.
They are as alike as two peas in a pod.
“The Kingdom of heaven
is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown
it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the birds of the sky
come and dwell in its branches."
"The kingdom of heaven
is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed
with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened."
The thing about metaphors is...
they always fall short.
No matter how vivid or striking,
they all eventually limp
or lose their impact,
and no single metaphor can capture
the fullness
or the mystery
of God’s Kingdom—
not even one that Jesus offers.
Jesus spoke of casting nets into the sea,
of seeds tossed upon rocky soil,
of shepherds guarding flocks,
of fig trees
and grapes
and vineyards
and wine poured into new wineskins.
These images and metaphors
were powerful to his listeners
because they evoked
scenes and memories of their own lives—
common events,
everyday people,
shared circumstances.
These metaphors invited people
to see their familiar world
through new eyes—
to embrace their lives as
mysterious gifts,
overflowing with grace
and smudged throughout
with the fingerprints of God.
But what about us?
What metaphors of the Kingdom
speak to us?
There are few vineyards
in suburban Cincinnati.
Even fewer shepherds tending flocks.
Sport fishing,
yes,
but I’ll wager that no one makes a living
casting nets into the Ohio River
or selling fish caught in the Mill Creek—
at least no one who wants to live
to tell the tale.
I can’t remember the last time
I saw a mustard tree
outside the pages of an illustrated Bible.
And while bread making
is experiencing a revival,
most of us still buy our bread
in bags
at Kroger’s.
We have heard and read these
Biblical metaphors
so many times,
we glide right over them--
eyes glazed,
ears half-closed,
numb to much of their rich
and evocative meaning.
Maybe
we should explore new metaphors—
metaphors that speak to our own time;
our own culture;
our particular landscape.
“The Kingdom of heaven
is like a woman,
who shared a simple Facebook post,
and awakens to find it has gone viral,
generating 2 million views overnight.
“The Kingdom of heaven
is like a microchip,
smaller than a fingernail,
yet,
filled with a hundred million transistors,
and powerful enough
to navigate a rocket.
Creating metaphors for our shared journey
could be an interesting—
perhaps even transformative exercise.
But what about the metaphor we have today,
in this passage?
The kingdom of heaven
is like yeast.
The Kingdom of heaven
is like something that rises.
The Kingdom is like something
that makes something else…
well…
into something else entirely.
What is yeast,
and what are the properties of yeast
that might evoke
something
of the Kingdom?
I decided to find out.
Yeasts are tiny,
microscopic,
single-celled organisms.
Microorganisms so small
so invisible
that ¼ ounce of dry yeast
contains billions of yeast cells.
Billions.
Yeast is a form of fungus,
making it a close cousin
of the mushroom.
To thrive,
yeast needs food,
water,
a hospitable environment.
Though each single-celled yeast
is too small to see with our eyes,
they are living,
just like plants,
and animals,
and human beings.
And like many other living things,
these cells live together in colonies—
in communities of yeast. Â
In a nurturing environment,
yeast cells work together,
growing rapidly,
converting starch in flour
into sugar for food
and releasing carbon dioxide in return.
And for thousands and thousands of years,
humanity has harnessed the power
of these tiny organisms
to make bread rise and beer ferment.
Yeast is our oldest industrial microorganism.
We captured the magic of yeast
long before we developed written language.
In ancient times,
bread was the staple food,
comprising more than half --
sometimes most--
of a person’s daily calories.
It was prepared daily,
and baking bread
was one of the most important activities
of any household, rich or poor.
Yet, as common as breadmaking was,
the biochemical process of yeast
was not fully understood.
It was seen as a mysterious
and perhaps even mystical
transformation.
So,
Jesus is inviting us to see
the Kingdom of heaven as something:
small,
almost hidden.
Something that thrives
in a cooperative community
when it receives life-giving water,
food for its purpose,
and supportive surroundings.
He challenges us to see the Kingdom
as mysterious,
yet powerful,
something capable of the most astonishing
transformation--
transformation that can happen
time and time again,
day in
and day out.
Transformation that turns
common, ordinary ingredients
into something
utterly new and valuable
and capable of sustaining life—
a creation that can
delight the spirit
and feed the body.
Oh,
and here's one more thing
about yeast…
when food supplies are low,
or the environment harsh,
yeast produces special stress-resistant cells
that can remain dormant,
yet alive,
for long periods of time,
germinating,
growing,
becoming active again
when conditions improve.
In other words,
yeast can hunker down in hard times,
surviving
even the most difficult challenges
to grow and rise up another day.
Jesus invites us to consider
that the Kingdom of Heaven
is a little bit like yeast.
I don't know about you,
but this sounds pretty amazing to me!