Thoughts for the Day

Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We have seen St Paul Corinth already (see Chosen because God is so great), but here he attacks the Christians for their support of one of their number who is sinful. He likens their action to the pinch of dough (the leaven) that is added to the next day's sourdough bread to make it rise. (See The Kingdom of Heaven (2) ) As the pinch of dough is added day after day to make new bread there is a danger that the dough will eventually become infected. One of the rules for the Passover was (and still is) the need to remove all leaven from the house for a week. The Hebrew people left Egypt in a hurry taking only unleavened bread, but as well as reminding them of this it also ensures that fresh leaven is used after this.

Paul uses the idea of leaven to speak of how a sin can infect the new church at Corinth. A small sin can and will gradually corrupt the Church, and like the leaven needs to be removed.

It is the same with us, a small amount of leaven can make the bread rise; a small amount of sin can in the same way change us. We need to clear out the old leaven, and start again, and we can only do this with God's help.

Monday 7th September, follow up thoughts

Lord Jesus,
we need Your help
to discover the sin within us,
and to root it out.
We know that like leaven
small sins will grow
but we equally know that
if we confess our sin
You will forgive us.
Today we ask Your forgiveness.
Amen.