Rising Yeast
First Congregational Church – Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – July 24, 2005
Rev. Carrie Kreps Wegenast
[Texts: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 and Romans 8:26-39]

A few weeks before camp I received an email with guidelines to follow as a counselor.  As I quickly glanced over the dos and don’ts, my eyes rested on the final words of wisdom.  It was a reminder to pray for the campers and other counselors.  In fact the sentence read, “Please go out of your way to… pray for kids and adults!”  At first this struck me as odd.  I thought, well of course I’m going to pray for all the campers and the counselors I’m working with.  Then, the week started. 

I first met Jeff on Sunday night.  He was late to arrive because of a delayed sports event.  I could tell right from the beginning that he was going to be a handful.  He talked when everyone else was quiet.  He interrupted the director as she presented the program.  He would talk to his neighbors, he would make fun of the speaker, he, in general, was a pain.  It didn’t take long before all the counselors were fed up and many of the campers too.  His constant interruptions were making it hard for others to learn. 

At Monday night’s campfire the twig snapped.  Jeff talked and interrupted and talked some more and one of the counselors had finally had enough.  She yelled at him in front of the whole camp.  Yes, he was quiet after that but it left a layer of tension in the air.

At staff the next morning we learned a little bit more about Jeff.  Jeff was born with a condition that erased the filter between his mind and his mouth.  He lacks control to silence his mouth.  Because of this there are very few things that Jeff is good at.  School is extremely difficult – both for him and the people around him.  And, as we experienced, he struggles to act appropriately in groups. 

That night, as I got ready for bed I was reminded of the Camp Counselor Guidelines and I prayed.  I wish that I could say that on Tuesday Jeff was much better.  Jeff still talked but I began to look for his gifts rather than focus on the negatives of his personality.  I learned that he is an outstanding baseball player and the reason he was late coming to camp was because he was the starting pitcher in a state tournament game.  I also learned that this week of camp was Jeff’s confirmation present.  When his parents asked him what he wanted he said he wanted to go to camp.  He could have asked and received just about anything. 

By Wednesday I was more tired than energized and more conscious of everyone’s faults (my own included) than affirming of gifts.  I took the few minutes I had between cabin devotions and lights out to pray.  I started by thanking God for all the things I had already learned that week.  It always works well for me to recognize the blessings first.  Then I prayed for each of my fellow counselors and campers by name and recognized things they had done well that day.  It helped me to see them in a new light. 

As the week progressed I found it necessary to up my prayer time.  I made prayer intentional and I noticed my attitudes shifting.

I began to witness Jeff’s talking as a gift.  His outgoing spirit brought even the shyest youth into the conversation.  He was able to draw people out and make them feel welcome.  The person who had taught Jeff’s confirmation class was also at camp last week and shared a story about him with us.  As a class they went to a soup kitchen to serve a meal.  Jeff appointed himself head greeter and as people walked into the room he would shake their hand, tell them how great they looked, and welcome them to dinner.  She remembered how faces would light up as Jeff noticed a colorful shirt or a beautiful smile.  His disability was used as a gift.

There is something about prayer that seems so small and insignificant until one-steps back to see the great impact it has had.  As some of you know, I started writing down my prayers in high school.  When I moved to Tosa the box of prayer journals was delivered to my apartment courtesy of my parents who wanted all of my stuff out of their house.  It has been fun to revisit my prayers of gratitude, my prayers of lament, and my prayers of request. 

Circle 13 formed a book club that held its first meeting not too long ago.  In the book we discussed, two women are talking about prayer and one shows the other her prayer box.  It is a box she keeps under her bed and when something needs prayer she writes it on a piece of paper and slips it through the cut out hole.  As they are talking about it, she opens it up and begins sorting through her past prayers.  She finds that some have been answered and others need a bit more time.  These prayers, written in the moment of need or thanksgiving, dated with the time and place, demonstrated to these two characters the impact of God’s work in life.  They were able to see the yeast’s work. 

I would like to take a minute to revisit this morning’s gospel text. The author of Matthew writes, “He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’" [Matthew 13:33]

The Revised Standard Version uses the term ‘leaven’ in its translation.  In first century Israel ‘leaven’ suggested an evil influence.  It was something that contaminated, spread out, or caused conflict.  Leaven, itself, was a symbol for human corruption.  In this parable Jesus twists this connotation.  He uses leaven to explain “the pervasive power of God’s reign” on earth. 

I’ll never forget the first time I forgot to add yeast to a recipe.  The end product was not what I was expecting.  In fact, it looked much like this loaf of bread.  Flat, hard, and a bit like a brick.

It seems odd that something so small – yeast is tiny little graduals – would have such a big impact.  When it is mixed with the other ingredients you might not even realize that it is there until the dough is given time to rise.

Two other phrases are significant in this text.  First, the yeast is hidden in the flour.  To hide something suggests doing it in secret so that it may be revealed at a later time.  One of the Junior PF’s favorite games is Sardines.  The premise is to have one person hide and as other people find the original hider they hide in the same spot.  You try to find a spot where no one else will be able to find you.  It is challenging and a bit lonely but worth hearing everyone ask, “where were you,” when you come out of your secret spot.  To hide the yeast is to hide it so that no one knows it is there – to let it reveal itself at a later time. 

The other phrase demonstrates a change in language since biblical times.  We are told that the woman hid the yeast in three measures of flour.  Does anyone know how much three measures is?  [Pause for someone to answer]  I didn’t either until I looked it up this week.  Three measures would be approximately ten gallons or enough flour to make bread for 100-150 people. 

Eugene Peterson’s The Message, paraphrases verse 33 in this way, “Another story.  ‘God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread – and waits while the dough rises.”

This act of baking bread is an extravagant endeavor.  This woman is not making bread for a small family gathering.  She is really making bread, maybe enough for her village. 

Jesus uses the parable to explain the kingdom of God to his disciples.  He wants them to realize that God’s kingdom is like a small amount of yeast used to leaven much dough.  God’s kingdom will be extravagant – big enough for many.  The kingdom may seem small, even invisible now, but it will have a great impact in its time.  Just like the yeast added to the dough, the Spirit is already at work among us.

Lately, I have read several arguments on sudden conversion versus gradual conversion.  Using two biblical examples – Peter had a gradual conversion.  It took him his entire time with Jesus, three denials, and a resurrection before he believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  Saul, who became Paul, lived by a sudden conversion.  On the road to Damascus he was struck blind and heard the voice of Christ.  Each Apostle reached a place of faith, only they reached it by different means. 

In preparation for camp I was confronted by the various conversion argument viewpoints as they weighted into how the camp should be run.  Some felt altar calls and opportunities for baptism should be offered.  They encouraged the opportunities for sudden conversion.  Others argued that camp is not a congregation in itself and so cannot provide what new Christians and newly baptized Christians need in terms of support and nurture.  This group favors providing material for growth and a possible gradual conversion.  For those of us who have attended a church camp we may have experienced the mountain top spiritualness of camp.  It is a condensed Christian experience that sometimes results in a new commitment to live in Christ.  I have also experienced this time on the mountaintop.  What usually happened for me is that I came home ready to read my Bible from start to finish and live the truly Christian way my counselors had encouraged of me.  This usually lasted until I got to the Book of Deuteronomy and the lists of laws.  At least we have the model of Moses who upon coming down from the mountaintop with the Ten Commandments promptly got angry and smashed the tablets on the ground.  His mountain top experience did not last very long either. 

This week of camp I committed to hiding the yeast rather than focusing on encouraging a one-time mountain top experience.  Everyday I made an effort to show God’s love to all the campers and staff.  My work, rather God’s work, may be invisible and that is okay.  I would rather the youth experience the long-term affect of a life with God. 

God’s kingdom is like the yeast mixed into the flour.  It begins with little impact.  You may not even know that it is there until you return a few hours later to see the dough risen and often in my case – spilling over the sides of the bowl.

Let us pray.

Eternal God, you have given us this day in which to experience your kingdom.  Reveal to us the impact of your love and our prayers that we might have hope.  Continue to encourage us and please be with all the youth and staff that recently returned from the Wisconsin Congregational Association Camp that your love would spread through them as yeast is mixed with flour.

In your son’s name we pray, Amen.

Donald K. McKim, “leaven,” Westminister Dictionary of Theological Terms [Louisville: Westminister John Knox Press, 1996].