October 31 2006

Eph 5:21-33 Brothers and sisters: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church,he himself the savior of the Body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ,so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it,even as Christ does the Church,because we are members of his Body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5R. (1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,who walk in his ways!For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vinein the recesses of your home;Your children like olive plantsaround your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessedwho fears the LORD.The LORD bless you from Zion:may you see the prosperity of Jerusalemall the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Lk 13:18-21 Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Until it is leavened was the theme of a vocation conference about a year ago. I was asked to make a drawing to be used to go with this theme. Before the final drawing, I had done lectio on the meaning of yeast and breadmaking and the role of women in breadmaking in Biblical times. In some parts of the Bible yeast is something which is bad or spoiled, yet with the bread making the old and spoiled is used to make something that is good and new.

It is interesting that all the depictions of ancient times and breadmaking that I found were of women making bread not men. It seems to be an activity that was primarily done by women. The bread is the body of Christ and the body of the Church food for the world and the hungers of the world.

To be able to build goodness and nourishment in this worlk is a gift and a blessing. I pray that I may bring light and love to others this day in my acts and prayers of this day.