Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 23, 2023
Matt 13: 24-33
Ursulines, The Fountains, Tuckahoe, N.Y.
Blessed Sacrament, New Rochelle
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
OL of Assumption, Bronx

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast…” (Matt 24: 33).

Jesus tells us 3 parables today.  Each has its own hidden meaning.  The shortest of the 3 concerns yeast kneaded into a batch of wheat flour.

Those of you who’ve baked, know the importance of yeast.  Without yeast bread is different.  It doesn’t rise, and it doesn’t have the same flavor.  It’s like matzoh or the hosts we use at Mass:  2 forms of unleavened bread.

Eucharistic unleavened bread

But yeast is hidden, working deep within the dough.  We can’t see it at work; we can see only the result, an aromatic, tasty loaf of bread.

Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven, God’s realm, is like that.  Within the created world, particularly within the human race, grace works silently and mysteriously to transform whatever it touches.  Within the created world, someone moved by grace works silently to transform he world into a realm over which the Lord rules.

Every Christian—each of us, sisters and brothers—is called by Christ to be yeast in the world; called to influence the human race.  Yeast doesn’t make noise or draw attention.  Quietly, it does its work of making bread more palatable and satisfying.  Christ calls each of us in our families, workplaces, and social activities to act like yeast, to penetrate all things and infuse them with his presence.

We don’t have to be Billy Graham or Mother Teresa to change the world.  We have only to let Christ fill our hearts and then live Christ-like lives as best we can by practicing virtue and resisting vice.

Spouses who are faithful and considerate to each other are yeast in society.  Parents who teach God’s ways to their children and treat them with gentle firmness are yeast.  Honest, diligent workers are yeast.  Patient, truthful, respectful people are yeast.  Families that worship on Sunday and pray in their homes are yeast.  People who are involved in parish life are yeast.  People who use the earth’s resources with restraint and are generous with the poor are yeast.  People who bring Christian principles into public life by how they vote and by the policies they support are yeast.

In the collect (opening prayer) we prayed that God’s grace might make us fervent in hope, faith, and charity and that we might always be watchful in keeping God’s commands.  We were praying that we might be yeast that leavens our families, our society, and our culture for the glory of God.