Tuesday Sermon: Where Is Your Faith Written?

          "Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."  It's always interesting to unpack even one sentence uttered by Christ.  So much meaning fills so few words.

          For anyone who uses yeast in baking, we're aware that a little bit of yeast fills an entire batch of dough.  And when the yeast is actually making bread, it's a good thing.  But when the yeast represents two opposite groups among the Jews, there's a whole other level of meaning going on.  However, keep in mind what it is that yeast does.

          So today, let's talk about what the yeast represents in Christ's metaphors.  Interestingly enough, the answer is found in the other Gospels.  Pharisees were the social conservatives of the Jewish Faith.  In Luke 12, Christ states, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy."  They were more concerned with letter of the law than the spirit of the law; with the intellect, rather than the heart.

          On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Sadducees, or those known as Herodians.  These are Jews on the more liberal end of the spectrum, where their lives and teachings were pervaded with materialism, worldliness and compromise with the world.  The "yeast of Herod" would be those Jews who had joined forces with Herod in compromising with Rome.

          Putting the questions Christ put to His disciples into context, He reminds them that each time they have been faced with the need for bread, He has provided a miracle to feed the people.  And yet each time, they react again with fear, rather than with faith in the abilities He has shown them.  They know in their heads that God provides, but they have not yet engraved that faith on their hearts.  Jesus warns them of the yeast – that tiny amount of leaven that can pervade their entire beings with doubt.  How often does the Divine need to prove Himself before we believe?

          Looking at the reading from Genesis, "the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart."  I often wonder how God looks upon the people of the earth today, and wonders if the yeast of the Pharisee and of the Herodians hasn't permeated the Earth again.  I can remember as a child listening to this story and feeling shame that we, as a people, grieved the Lord to His heart.  Where is the faith of Noah today?  How do we reach a point of having little bread, and react with faith, rather than with fear?

          We see and we hear, but we often do not comprehend. We read His Word, but we do not truly believe it. We have experienced His power, but it has not convinced us that we can trust Him completely.

          The Lord is challenging each of us to examine our lives in the light of His work in us. He is calling us to total faith and trust in Him, and to live that faith in our daily lives.  He is calling us to lay aside our "what if's" and our "how's". He is calling us to trust Him.  Think about that and be aware of each of the blessings you experience in your own life.  Write your faith upon your heart.