12/15/2025
From today's Gospel reading:
“Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod” (Mark 8:15).
The leaven of the Pharisees is using religion as a pretense to impress others. The leaven of Herod is placing our faith in politics. We must “take heed, beware,” because these are both great temptations that can come to us in subtle ways.
Both leavens offer us something that we want in life: control. Most of us think, “If only others thought like me, believed like me, voted like me, cared for the issues that I care for, then this world would be a better place.” And so we seek to place our focus in life on either the leaven of the Pharisees or the leaven of Herod, desiring to change the world around us.
But Christ offers us inner transformation. St. Seraphim of Sarov famously said, “Acquire the Holy Spirit, and a thousand around you will be saved.” Anything that offers us less than “the kingdom of heaven within” (Luke 17:21) is a cheap substitute at best.
Do you want to change the world? Do you want to make life better for yourself and others? Then we must begin by working on ourselves, becoming precious vessels of the Holy Spirit with faith and love in Christ.
