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the leaven of the pharisees
hello again! i read today's gospel (Mark 8:14-21)and I couldn't understand what Jesus meant when He said "Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” I'm just like the disciples! I have eyes and cannot see, ears yet I cannot hear.
Please help me understand what Jesus really meant. Thanks!
The One Loaf
You got half of it right
It is meant to be difficult. The story opens up with the mention of a loaf of bread that the disciples are not aware of. When the disciples wonder about the meaning of the saying about the leaven, Jesus points them to the multiplication of the bread (see previous story). First, identify the loaf of bread that was in the boat. Second, think: "What is the leaven in that bread?" I say this because it is the leaven in that bread that is contrasted implicitly with the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.
Hint: Read John 6
asking for a sign
In today's Gospel (Mark 8:11-13), Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they asked Him for a sign. I know that many people today, when praying to the Lord, ask Him for a sign if their prayers will be answered. I don't usually ask for a sign because I'm reminded of this Gospel reading. But, I just want to ask, is it really wrong to ask for a sign? Is the sign that the Pharisees were asking of Jesus the same as the sign we ask now (i.e., a sign if our prayers will be answered)? For example, when we say a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux, we ask for a sign of the rose, indicating that our prayers have been heard - and hence, will be answered. I'm getting confused already...is it okay, then, if we ask for a sign from God?
I hope I'm making sense.
Re: asking for a sign
When the Pharisees asked for a sign, they were asking it from their unbelief, as was the case of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist. There is a case in the OT where God was offended when a king refused to ask for a sign: Isaiah 7:10-14.
I don't know where you got the idea of asking roses for a novena prayer made to St. Therese. Even to me it sounds strange. And I don't think that we should still ask for signs if we really pray with faith. "Ask, seek, knock..." he said. "Anything you ask in my name will be given you." He also said. Besides, he has already given the sign -- the sign of the Resurrection.