I once
mentioned to a young woman that when I was in school, we were required to take
a turn reading a few verses from the Bible at the start of each day and I liked
to read the parables when it was my turn.
The young woman said, “Oh, then you attended a parochial school?” I explained that no, I attended public school; scripture reading and repeating the Lord’s Prayer were part of each day’s opening exercise in each classroom. She seemed shocked and unable to imagine that could ever have taken place in my lifetime. It may have been then that I realized how blessed I had been to grow up in a society that valued its Christian heritage. (I also realized I was two days older than dirt.)
Yes, we had some students who just flipped open the classroom Bible and read the first group of verses they spied…mostly the boys…sorry, just being truthful. While some students weren’t particularly “into” reading scripture out loud for the class, no one objected to doing it or listening to it. Our Christian background came with the expectation that we would be taught morals from God’s Word at school as well as at home.
Sadly, first prayer was no longer allowed in public schools (in a 1963 Supreme Court ruling I believe) and then reading scripture was no longer permitted in the classroom. But I digress!
When I read the parables to my classmates, each parable seemed to tell a story that I could relate to. I suspect that’s one of the reasons Jesus taught in parables. He used different styles of teaching in different situations (in a synagogue, outdoors with thousands in the crowd, or with only his twelve disciples).
I think parables touched the hearts of the everyday men and women who could really relate to the teaching. Often a parable related a story about agriculture or homemaking…things that didn’t require a formal education to understand. For instance, in Luke 13:21 he compared the kingdom of God to “yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Now I’ve had some personal experience with yeast and dough through the years. I often jot down recipes of things I plan to bake. On one occasion I attempted to make dinner rolls from scratch. I added the amount of yeast, warm water, and a little sugar. I let it do its thing as the yeast became a little frothy (active) and then added it to the flour and other ingredients. To make a long story short, once baked, my dinner rolls were like hockey pucks. Why? I’d written down a much smaller measurement of yeast than the original recipe called for. Very little yeast might as well have been no yeast at all.
Another time, I tried another dinner roll recipe. I mixed the correct measurement of yeast, warm water, and sugar and stirred it. Suddenly the yeast mixture froth begin rising quickly up in the cup and threatened to run over; I had to dump it into a larger container. The effect this active yeast had on the dinner rolls was to make them beautiful, fluffy, and delicious.
Yes, brothers and sisters, this parable and my own life experiences have taught me that belonging to the Kingdom of God can have very little, if any affect, on those around us unless we allow the Holy Spirit to use us like yeast. Yeast that is fed properly (by prayer, Bible study, and a personal relationship with Jesus) can make the biggest difference in the world around each of us.
~Elsie Shepherd
The young woman said, “Oh, then you attended a parochial school?” I explained that no, I attended public school; scripture reading and repeating the Lord’s Prayer were part of each day’s opening exercise in each classroom. She seemed shocked and unable to imagine that could ever have taken place in my lifetime. It may have been then that I realized how blessed I had been to grow up in a society that valued its Christian heritage. (I also realized I was two days older than dirt.)
Yes, we had some students who just flipped open the classroom Bible and read the first group of verses they spied…mostly the boys…sorry, just being truthful. While some students weren’t particularly “into” reading scripture out loud for the class, no one objected to doing it or listening to it. Our Christian background came with the expectation that we would be taught morals from God’s Word at school as well as at home.
Sadly, first prayer was no longer allowed in public schools (in a 1963 Supreme Court ruling I believe) and then reading scripture was no longer permitted in the classroom. But I digress!
When I read the parables to my classmates, each parable seemed to tell a story that I could relate to. I suspect that’s one of the reasons Jesus taught in parables. He used different styles of teaching in different situations (in a synagogue, outdoors with thousands in the crowd, or with only his twelve disciples).
I think parables touched the hearts of the everyday men and women who could really relate to the teaching. Often a parable related a story about agriculture or homemaking…things that didn’t require a formal education to understand. For instance, in Luke 13:21 he compared the kingdom of God to “yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Now I’ve had some personal experience with yeast and dough through the years. I often jot down recipes of things I plan to bake. On one occasion I attempted to make dinner rolls from scratch. I added the amount of yeast, warm water, and a little sugar. I let it do its thing as the yeast became a little frothy (active) and then added it to the flour and other ingredients. To make a long story short, once baked, my dinner rolls were like hockey pucks. Why? I’d written down a much smaller measurement of yeast than the original recipe called for. Very little yeast might as well have been no yeast at all.
Another time, I tried another dinner roll recipe. I mixed the correct measurement of yeast, warm water, and sugar and stirred it. Suddenly the yeast mixture froth begin rising quickly up in the cup and threatened to run over; I had to dump it into a larger container. The effect this active yeast had on the dinner rolls was to make them beautiful, fluffy, and delicious.
Yes, brothers and sisters, this parable and my own life experiences have taught me that belonging to the Kingdom of God can have very little, if any affect, on those around us unless we allow the Holy Spirit to use us like yeast. Yeast that is fed properly (by prayer, Bible study, and a personal relationship with Jesus) can make the biggest difference in the world around each of us.
~Elsie Shepherd
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