Homily for Saint Benedict's Monastery
Sesquicentennial Celebration
"Study the generations long past and understand.
Has anyone hoped in the Lord and been disappointed?"
Sister Nancy and dear sisters of Saint Benedict's Monastery,
it is an honor for me
to extend to you the congratulations
of all the monks of Saint John's Abbey
on the occasion of your sesquicentennial.
We join you today to pray with you in thanksgiving
for all that has been,
and to ask for God's continued blessing on each one of you
and on your community.
Compared to Metten Abbey or Saint Walburga Monastery,
each of which has been in existence for a 1000 years,
150 years may seem to be a modest span.
But we need to celebrate with great energy
because both our country and we are so young
on the European time scale.
There is another reason as well.
I believe that each of our monasteries is at a crucial point in its history
because of the amazing changes of the past 50 years.
Changes in the Church, in society, in family structure and values,
in the relationships between men and women and races.
Both Benedicta Riepp and Boniface Wimmer
would probably be shocked, amazed, and gratified.
For those seven women
who made it to shore in rowboats on July 4, 1857
were indeed yeast, the leaven of the Gospel.
Yeast is a microorganism that contains,
among a whole bunch of enzymes,
an enzyme that converts
a sugar solution into carbon dioxide and ethanol.
So yeast is used to make alcohol in beer and wine,
a feature that we will take advantage of later on this afternoon.
Yeast is also used in the baking of bread.
The carbon dioxide produced causes the bread to rise
and fills the bread full of bubbles.
As a result the bread has this wonderful light, tactile texture.
Yeast is not a fussy, demanding agent,
just some moisture, approximately the right temperature range
and good carbon source and it will do chemistry.
In telling this parable,
Jesus knows because his Jewish audience
is much more sensitive
to the significant difference that leaven makes in bread
because unleavened bread is part of the culture.
The amount of yeast seems to be insignificant:
one part yeast to 100 parts flower can make excellent bread.
Yeast may not look important
but we couldn't have bread without it.
The parable tells us that we cannot judge
the significance of things by their size,
that some things start out shaky, modest, small, back-of-the-envelope,
improvised, and become marvelous and life-giving.
As yeast transforms a batch of grapes or flour,
very modest starting materials,
so the proclamation of the reign of God transforms our world,
through the lens of Benedictine prayer, work, and study.
Like yeast, the reign of God is not fussy and demanding
but will be transformative in all human situations.
Looking ahead, as Sister Nancy noted last year,
we began our first 150 years in an unequal partnership.
Despite this, we have done wonderful ministries together.
Truly we begin our second 150 years as equal partners,
yeast in the reign of God.
It seems appropriate to pose the question:
Given our time and its needs,
what should we as Benedictine men and women do together
that will leaven our Church and our world?
Given the gifts of the Benedictine tradition,
where can we best be the yeast of the reign of God?
"Study the generations long past and understand.
Has anyone hoped in the Lord and been disappointed?"
We would have to answer this question with a resounding "no."
Abbot John Klassen, OSB
July 4, 2007
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