The kingdom of heaven is like leaven...

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.

Some of the most beautiful truths are hidden.

I am finding one of these hidden treasures in the baking of the prosfora. This is what we call the bread offered in church for the Eucharist; it means "offering." I enjoy most any baking because it is so interesting to work the dough and see it change. Yet, this bread, this offering, is offered in the work of the people, the liturgy, and the change taking place is true mystery and beauty.

I remember, in my early encounters with Orthodoxy, questioning why the church uses leavened bread when they used unleavened for the Passover meal of the last supper?

I was told by Fr. John, "well, the Last Supper wasn't the Passover." St. John explains the meal took place "before the feast of Passover" (Jn 13:1), and clearly puts Christ's crucifixion on the day of Preparation of the passover (Jn 19:14, 31, 42; also Mt 27:62, etc). The death of Christ coincides with the ritual slaughter of the passover lamb at the temple, because he is the Passover lamb. The Passover hadn't yet begun, in which case the bread would have been leavened. [links below if you're interested in historical-critical arguments.]

But really that's beside the point. The truth is so beautiful, it can clearly be seen as gospel. "You see," Fr. John explained, "Leavened bread is living bread."

Leavened bread, before yeast was easily bought in stores, was made with a bit of old dough, the starter, a living connection with the past. The yeast living in the starter is a hidden force that invisibly spreads to the rest of the lump. Dough you must work with your hands until it too comes alive. Leavened bread is living bread.

The gospel truth is that Christ is risen. Christ is the living bread.

"I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." - John 6:48-51

We don't continue eating the bread of affliction and die as the Israelites, but we have the living bread of the kingdom of heaven, so that we might live.

To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? 

As, I measure the warm water, I take heart. I hide the bubbling yeast in the flour, and thank God for the truth he revealed. I work the dough with joy because Christ is our hermeneutic, who opens the scriptures to us on the road. I offer the prosfora with confidence and humility, because He is our leaven, hidden among us and giving life to all the body.




Research Links

historical-critical arguments for John's timeline:
Biblical Archaeology: Was Jesus Last Supper a Seder?

The Last Supper and Passover 
a theological argument for leavened bread:
Leavened vs. Unleavened Bread: what's the difference?
And a counterpoint, whose conclusion demonstrates the anxiety caused by the historical critical method:
What Kind of Bread did Jesus Use to Institute the Last Supper?

Teaching the Eucharist to Children

I put together this lesson on the Eucharist with a little zine for our kids at church. I tried to make the book appropriate for a broad age range. It simply explains the Eucharist, with quotes from the services, and bubbles telling the children ways they can participate in the Liturgy, with an image to color on each page.

It prints on one page. Fold the paper in half, in half again and in half again, then cut just the center of the vertical fold. Then you can fold it into a zine. Better fold and cutting instructions here or here. I love this easy zine template and make books for my kids frequently with it. I've embedded the pdf below to make it easy to print (if you can't see it, try this link). Print it at actual size (not scale to fit) for the folds to line up correctly.

a week of painting

The set up. Lots of plastic.

the girls, from a photo about 2 years ago

My living room, with the new prayer corner John built

Our driveway and house

I started this years ago, and just finished it up a bit. Not my usual thing, but a happy thought.

The painting on the left got re-worked a few times; the sketch on the right was the last project on the last day...

The corner shelf in our dining room, where I keep my prosfora seal

Friday morning

Pascha at St. John

Baking and Prosfora resources

I'm baking yeast rolls with the girls today - seems to be the most school I can muster amid my other appointments. I suppose that may sound like a big job if you don't bake, but with two rising periods it has mostly been a lazy day.

It got me thinking about prosfora and baking. I have yet to let the kids help bake it, but hopefully we'll remedy that this year. Below I've collected some resources about the leavened bread we use for the Eucharist that will come in handy when teaching the children about the Eucharist.

Some links:

• Raising Saints podcast - about teaching kids about prosfora - especially emphasizing the significance of each ingredient. 
• Leavened vs. Unleavened
• Orthodox Answers deals with this question in a simple and straightforward manner.

A list of the ingredients used in the bread, with scriptures that go with each one. Each ingredient points to transformation, resurrection and life, which is so fitting.

yeast:

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.  - John 6:51

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. Luke 13:21

flour: 

They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.You visit the earth and water it,You greatly enrich it;The river of God is full of water;You provide their grain,For so You have prepared it.You water its ridges abundantly,You settle its furrows;You make it soft with showers,You bless its growth. - Psalm 65

The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. - John 12:23-25

Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. - I Cor 15:36-38 

water:

unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - John 3:6

If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. - John 4:10

salt:

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. - Matt 5:13

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech alwaysbe with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. - Col 4:5, 6 

wine: 

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when theguests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. John 2:1-11