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Daily Devotional for November 4

November 4                                                Matthew 13:31-35


            "The realm of heaven is like leaven which
      a woman took and hid in three measures of meal,
                            till it was all leavened."


"Little piece of leaven, what secrets make you a sign of God's
realm?"


"My first secret is hiddenness. I do my best work when I allow
my presence to work in hidden ways. This secret holds true
for all creation: a seed cracks its husk and begins to grow in
the dark hiddenness of the earth; a pregnancy comes to term
in the nurturing hiddenness of the womb; Christ is raised from
the dead in the quiet hiddenness of the grave. Therefore, create
a hiddenness in your life where seeds of change can germinate
and grow.


"My second secret is that I am ordinary. Paradoxically, even
though the realm of heaven is hidden, it is found in the most
ordinary places in your life. It is no accident that Jesus chose
as a symbol of God's realm something from a place as ordinary
as a kitchen! Therefore, do not imagine that you must travel
to faraway shrines and monasteries to find God; rather,
cultivate an openness to the presence of God that permeates
everything and everyone around you.


"My final secret I call sheer grace. My friend, pieces of leaven
had always been a symbol of corruption and evil. So it was
revolutionary when Jesus lifted me up as an example of God's
realm. For the first time in history someone called me good!
Many people were scandalized, and many persist still in call-
ing me evil, but I don't believe them any more because I know
that God accepts me as I am. Hidden, ordinary, and despised,
I have been transformed by Christ, who was also hidden,
ordinary, and despised. Therefore, I have found self-esteem
without pride, and humility without self-hatred."


"Little piece of leaven, how wonderful are your secrets. I will
hide them in my heart today that they may teach me wisdom."

From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.19

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