|
Leaven... Salt... Light...
Jesus invites the church to become
a new community of human beings...
He said we should be the yeast, the leaven, not the whole loaf.
He called us to be salt, but we want to be the whole meal.
He urged us to be the light that illumines the mountaintop,
but we want to be the whole mountain.
The images that Jesus uses are very modest and yet very strong.
-Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr has captured my attention (again!). Recently, having felt called to simplify my life, I ordered his new book entitled Simplicity. Not available on Kindle, I had to wait for the book to arrive in the mail. Immediately upon receiving it, I commenced reading, fully expecting to be challenged by God, through Rohr, to prune and order my life, to simplify! Instead, I found myself immersed in a deep reflection on the practice of community.
Rohr's insight into community through Jesus' words is startling. While the call to be salt and light and yeast are familiar to us all, I wonder how many of us have thought about these simple elements in the context of being community. To be painfully transparent, I've always thought of the call to be leaven, salt and light in the singular, not the plural. How American is that! Yet, the simplicity of Jesus' images provides invitation to let go of the burden of needing to be the whole.
Herein lies the freedom to contribute what we have, without feeling responsible for providing all the ingredients. Ponder for a moment the implications of only needing to bring what you have, understanding that "together we are the body of Christ, and individually member of Christ's body." Another freedom is coming to learn that less is more. For those who have used too much salt or yeast in baking, you already know this!
Community, like cooking, takes practice. The first time Dick and I made bread together it was an unmitigated disaster. Had we dropped the bread from his second floor kitchen window, it would have cracked the pavement -- it was so hard! An "after action review" revealed that we had only missed one step, one little but significant step: to test the yeast in warm water!
Simplicity provides the context by which community is given the opportunity to form. Flour, salt, yeast, and water: the makings of bread. Love, compassion, hope, and play: the makings of community. So simple and yet so profound! As Rohr reminds us, "the images that Jesus uses are very modest and yet very strong." They are images that shape reality.
What images shape your reality?
Blessings for the journey!
Debbie Rundlett
General Presbyter
Holy Habit: Yeast
Take some time this week to ponder the images that shape your reality-your understanding of community. How do they compare with the images that Jesus offers? Now spend some time in the word:
It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until it all was leavened.Luke 13:21
In what ways have you experienced the yeast of the Holy Spirit in your life and ministry?
| 
