Our Lord next puts forward the parable of the yeast. “Just as yeast
communicates its invisible force to the whole lump of dough, so will the
force of the Gospel transform the whole world by means of the apostles'
ministry... Don't ask me: 'What can we twelve, miserable sinners do in
face of the whole world?' This is precisely the vast difference between
cause and effect, between a handful of men before a crowd, which will
demonstrate the stunning effect of your strength. Isn't it by mixing the
yeast into the dough, by 'hiding' it as the Gospel says, that it
transforms the whole lump? In the same way, apostles of mine, it is by
being mixed into the great mass of peoples that you will impregnate them
with your spirit and win victory over your adversaries. Even as it
disappears into the mass, yeast does not lose its strength. To the
contrary, it changes the whole dough's nature. In the same way, your
preaching will change all peoples. Therefore, be full of confidence”...
It is Christ who grants such great strength to this yeast... So don't
blame him for the small number of his disciples: it is the strength of
the message that is great... A spark is enough to change a few sticks of
dry wood into a blaze that will afterwards set even all the green wood
at the edge on fire.
