AN ACORN AND YEAST

I participated in a group spiritual guidance session a week ago where I presented my reflection. We employed imaginative reading of Scripture, and I identified with one imagined character in the story. I saw myself as a gentile sitting in the back row of a synagogue as this story unfolded. The familiar story came alive, and days later, I found myself still lingering on the passage. I knew I had to write it out. Thanks for reading, as always.

Luke 13:10-21, The Message

He was teaching in one of the meeting places on the Sabbath. There was a woman present, so twisted and bent over with arthritis that she couldn’t even look up. She had been afflicted with this for eighteen years. When Jesus saw her, he called her over. “Woman, you’re free!” He laid hands on her and suddenly she was standing straight and tall, giving glory to God.

The meeting-place president, furious because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the congregation, “Six days have been defined as work days. Come on one of the six if you want to be healed, but not on the seventh, the Sabbath.”

But Jesus shot back, “You frauds! Each Sabbath every one of you regularly unties your cow or donkey from its stall, leads it out for water, and thinks nothing of it. So why isn’t it all right for me to untie this daughter of Abraham and lead her from the stall where Satan has had her tied these eighteen years?”

When he put it that way, his critics were left looking quite silly and red-faced. The congregation was delighted and cheered him on.

Then he said, “How can I picture God’s kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use? It’s like an acorn that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge oak tree with thick branches, and eagles build nests in it.”

He tried again. “How can I picture God’s kingdom? It’s like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread—and waits while the dough rises. 

I sat with my mouth open and eyes widened, trying to process what had just happened. I also felt the temperature rising in the synagogue. Toward the end, my heart burned, and I strangely felt free and unburdened.

I had known the woman suffering from severe arthritis for many years, though I have not seen her in recent years. During the years I have not seen her, she grew much worse in her condition. Her face wore scars of pain, just as twisted as her body. She must have heard the rumor that Jesus, who has miraculously healed many sinners in nearby villages, would visit the synagogue today. Perhaps a good neighbor alerted her. . .

As one of the few gentiles in the congregation who used to sit in the back, I have been attracted to the Jewish way of life, their laws, wisdom, and most of all, their God. As a latecomer and uneducated, I had many questions over the years but kept quiet and continued to attend and listen. I also heard rumors about Jesus and how he baffled and infuriated some and inspired many. This Jesus, I finally got to see and hear in person today.

He was different, remarkably and stunningly, unlike any religious leader I have listened to. His voice was tender and yet thunderous, packed with compassion and power. His eyes twinkled, almost inviting the listeners to hear beyond the words. He shed light on many questions I had, my intuition leaped with joy in agreement even to an uneducated mind. With his words being simple and easy to follow, Jesus did not waste words. The parables he shared were illuminating and penetrating.

Though the woman could not look up to see Jesus, Jesus spotted her hunched over in obvious pain and suffering. Stopping his talk, Jesus called her, touched her, and said, “Woman, you are free!” What happened next, I will never forget. Within seconds, she stood up like a new woman, standing tall and straight, her face beaming with light and glory. All the while, Jesus’ words, “Woman, you’re free,” still rings in my ear.

Not surprisingly because of what I was used to hearing about the Sabbath's teachings, the synagogue's leader was flustered and raised hell indirectly with Jesus by talking to the congregation. Jesus did not wait for a second, shot back with inhuman authority cut through the trap, and rebuked with power, remarkably couched in a question. I felt the dead weight I had been carrying somewhat unsuspectingly shattered into pieces. I could not help but shout with the loudest cheer I knew. The people in the synagogue turned back to see where the loudest clap and cheer came from, only to see me. I could not care less. . .

As all the eyes turned to Jesus again, he spoke in short parables. I knew that the acorn and the yeast referred to the arthritis woman. My heart was filled with hope and the vision of the Kingdom Jesus spoke about. While walking back to my house, it dawned on me that I too could be the acorn and the yeast. My heart strangely warmed, and I vowed to follow Jesus and his teachings. The woman’s countenance beamed with light that was not hers and I realized that I also saw the light that monolithic day.

Years later, Jesus is no longer walking on this earth. Yet, his presence remains, ever pervasively. The light in me is still alive and strong. In addition, I did not have the language the day I met Jesus, but now I know that both the woman and I were set free. She was freed from the bondage of disease and Satan. I was freed from the bondage of religious indoctrination and a system that shrinks God to a manageable and predictable God. I know how to live and let others live. They say they can see the light of freedom in me.