6th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday – 16th February 2021 — Gospel: Mark 8,14-21
Leaven of False Teaching
As Jesus continues his journey across the sea, his disciples realize that they had forgotten to bring enough bread for all of them. Realizing the perplexity of his disciples, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them once again. He emphatically warns them against “the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod”. Yeast refers to a leavening culture that makes bread dough rise when baked. For the Israelites, leavening substances became associated with the bondage of Egypt and became a metaphor for corrupting influence. Each Passover season, the Jews had to remove all leaven from their dwellings (Ex 12,18-20), and leaven was not allowed with the offerings (Ex 23,18; 34,25; Lev 2,11; 6,17). Evil, like leaven, is small and hidden, but it spreads and soon infects the whole (Gal 5,9). Leaven is used as a picture of false doctrine (Gal 5,1-9), unjudged sin in the church (1 Cor 5), and hypocrisy (Lk 12,1). In this context, Jesus warns his disciples to guard against the shameful hypocrisy and refusal to believe that hardened the hearts of the Pharisees and Herod. Herod’s corruption and the Pharisees’ hypocrisy are a poisoning leaven for the faith of God’s people. Jesus expresses that his disciples can become like them if they do not accept who Jesus is and what he is able to do. If their false teaching got into the hearts and minds of the disciples, it would infect them and pollute the truth Jesus had given them to proclaim about Himself and His kingdom.
