Quote of the day: In the Christian and Muslin traditions of the Middle East and North Africa, there was fear of something powerful that is unseen –like their coded terms for molds, bacteria and viruses— but there was also recognition of the buoyant spirited power of others, live “leaven” or yeast. So in the Good News we hear that the “kin-dom of transcendence is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three small measures of meal, until the whole rose up to nourish us.” Why might someone liken leaven to the spirited kinship we feel with one another when we are grateful to our Creator? Because, as we are reminded of in Galacians 5, “a little leaven and lightens up the whole lump.”
Commentary: The spirit is hidden in and around you every moment, waiting to emerge and nourish you. The beneficial microbes by far outnumber the deleterious ones. They remind us that not everything that matters is in full sight. The ancients got this, and they had no microscopes or DNA testing labs. Why don’t we get it?
Suggested Action 42: As you walk along today, kneel here and there to dig don into the soil. Look for the molds and the mycorrhizal hyphae. Make peace with what is hidden in your life.
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Gary Paul Nabhan aka Brother Coyote is a professed member of the Ecumenical Order of Franciscans, a graduate of the Living School, a conservation biologist, orchard-keeper and story-teller.
