THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF LEAVEN
Jesus repeated it over and over: God is here and now transforming the world; God’s reign is coming. It wasn’t easy to believe him. People were awaiting something more spectacular: where could they grasp God’s power finally imposing God’s reign?
Jesus was still remembering a scene that he could have contemplated as a child in the patio of his house. His mother and the other women got up early, the day before the Sabbath, to make the bread for the whole week. This suggested to Jesus now the maternal working of God as God introduces God’s «leaven» in the world.
With God’s reign there happens something like the «leaven» that a woman «hides» in the mass of flour so that «all» gets fermented. That’s the way God acts. God doesn’t come to impose God’s power from outside, like the Roman emperor. God comes to transform life from within, in a quiet and hidden way.
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That’s the way God is: not impose Self, but transform; not dominate, but attract. And that’s how those who collaborate on God’s project must act: like «leaven» that introduces into the world their truth, their justice and their love in a humble way, but with transforming power.
We followers of Jesus can’t present ourselves in this society as «from outside» trying to impose ourselves to dominate and control those who don’t think like us. That isn’t the way to open up a path to God’s reign. We must live «within» the society, sharing the uncertainties, crises, contradictions of today’s world, and contributing our transforming life through the Gospel.
We must learn to live our faith «from below» as faithful witnesses of Jesus. What the Church needs isn’t more social or political power, but more humility to allow herself to be transformed by Jesus and be able to be ferment of a more human world.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
