Many of us born before 1982 may well remember a show called Truth or Consequence. It began on radio in 1940 and finished on TV in 1988. The premise was simple. An off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly or a bad joke before "Beulah the Buzzer" sounded in about two seconds. If the contestant could not complete the "Truth" portion, there would be "Consequences," usually a zany and embarrassing stunt. From the start, most contestants preferred to answer the question wrong in order to perform the stunt. The stunt often involved some heartrending moment like a reunion with a long-missed loved one. You might say that the grace of being willing to make a gentle fool of yourself for others' lightness was a personally rewarding moment. The show would often end with the line, "Hoping all your consequences are happy ones."
I am reminded they are not. As we grow we test our lives and sometimes we get burned because we miss a better decision which becomes the ground for better decisions to follow if we are alert.
Today’s Gospel follows several healings and the feeding of the four thousand. You would think that was an ample sign that God is up to something rather amazing in Jesus. Yet the reading begins;
“The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, 'Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.' And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.” Mark 8:11-13
The disciples are warned to be wary of the “leaven of the Pharisees.” They miss the image and wonder who forgot the loaf of bread. Jesus slaps his figurative brow and wonders how they could miss the wonder and meaning of the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand. It reminds me that there are consequences of being amazed and refusing to notice. Jesus' response to the Pharisees is essentially that if you will not see the signs of God already present do not expect more of them. This testing doubt as a base line is the “leaven” to be avoided.
The core leaven of the faithful life is that God is, that God is generous to any who will notice and that generosity is creative compassion, relationship. If we trust that, we will see wonderful things in self and each other and we will be drawn to create more of them. We will forgive the foolish things and stay focused on the better part of each other. The consequence is a deeper contentment in life and usefulness.
We can of course choose to avoid this leaven. There are consequences here as well. Contentment may elude us. Generosity may not grow. We may disconnect from a sense of deeper purpose or only find it much later in life. This can ripple deep in us.
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