DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS

St. Luke 13:18-29  (1/19) For Sat of the 34th Week after Pentecost (Sat 29th Week & Sat BN)

 

Quiet Power: St. Luke 13:18-29, especially vss. 20, 21: “And again He said, ‘To what shall I liken the Kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.’”  The gigantic forces of nature that wind, water, and earth occasionally display in storms, mud slides, ice flows, floods, and earthquakes reveal immense, latent strength in the natural world  There are also subtle, tiny displays of natural power often overlooked in innocuous events yet equally awesome: a tiny mushroom shatters a path by growing up through the asphalt paving.  A squirrel’s nest survives high in a whipping oak tree lashed by winter gales and freezing cold.  A tiny pinch of leaven doubles the size of a batch of dough.  In this vein, consider the note from the cookbook, Laurel’s Kitchen: “As the yeasties multiply, feeding on sugars in the dough, they make carbon dioxide bubbles...yeasties are quite intrepid and will flourish if we but respect their simple needs.”  Laurel’s “yeasties” serve well as an icon of the supernatural working of the All-Holy Spirit of God, for He also is dauntless and will flourish in our shrunken hearts to enlarge them and give them life if we will but respect His quiet, present power.

Yeast, it turns out, is very temperature sensitive, preferring gentle warmth.  In the same way, the Spirit of God works most powerfully in hearts where there is gentle warmth toward our Lord Jesus Christ.  Hence, a right faith in our Lord becomes an essential precondition for receiving the power of God.  All our works, even our good ones, without faith in Jesus our Lord, do not welcome the leavening power of the Spirit, and our hearts remain shriveled and cold.

On the other hand, if you will seek the Lord in the Holy Gifts, read His Holy Scriptures, call out to Him in prayer, reverence Him through the holy icons, choose not to follow earthly wisdom but to risk obeying His desires, your heart can become warm and grow into “a place for the Lord, a habitation for the God of Jacob” (Ps. 131:5 LXX).  The Lord Jesus gives abundant opportunities to exercise faith in Him and to obey beyond the point of comfort despite our fears and rationalizations.  Hearts can enlarge, but they must be warmed through trust in the Lord.

As yeast feeds on sugar kneaded into dough, so the Spirit of God feeds on the sweetness of the Faithful who watch and pray with Christ-loving hearts.  Even when you cannot read the Scriptures, receive the Holy Gifts, reverence an icon, or find a good work to perform, you always can watch your heart and pray and welcome the presence of the Spirit within.

For your part, there must be genuine turning to the Lord, to what the Apostles call “fervent” prayer” (Jas. 5:16; Rom. 12:11,12).  Watching is an essential element of such prayer.  Watching helps you guard prayer against distractions, wanderings of mind, coldness, and superficiality.  Wake up!  Be as those “on watch,” and labor to keep prayer unencumbered; for  in prayer you speak with the Lord God Himself aided by the Holy Spirit.  St. Basil teaches that “it is impossible to believe in the Father and the Son without the presence of the Spirit.”  And, when the Spirit comes and communes with you, it is time, as the Psalmist says, to “Be still, and know that I Am God” (Ps. 45:10 LXX), to welcome the Greatest of all guests and to offer Him the sweetness in your heart, begging Him to multiply His grace and power within all your members.

Yeast will not grow without the proper elements.  Neither will the Holy Spirit come where moral purity or dedication of the will are lacking.  If you are defiled in thought, word, or deed, then cleanse your heart at confession, pouring out your heart to God.  If you find that you are apathetic, then make every effort to warm and sweeten your heart by fasting, almsgiving, prayer, practice of virtues opposite to your sins - forcing open your heart to the Spirit.

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, come and dwell in us and save our souls.

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