Today, we hear from the letter of James, which we will hear from in our daily readings up until the start of the holy season of Lent. James calls us to patience and perseverance in the midst of our struggles, our trials, and our temptations. Throughout his letter, James encourages us to live consistently and courageously with what we have learned as followers of Christ.
We hear in the Gospel to guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. What could that mean? In the context of what we hear from James in guarding against temptation perhaps the leaven of the Pharisees is found in pride and scrupulosity, in the way that we can place more importance in following a strict, rigid adherence to the letter of the law, but at the same time violating the spirit of the law. The Pharisees try to mold God and their approach to religion into what they themselves want rather than letting God be God and letting God lead them and guide them. Perhaps we can be lured into the same temptation, taking us away from the faith God wants us to have. Are we so busy telling God how to be God, trying to tell him what commandments we should be following, that we don't have any time to listen to his will in our lives?
What could Jesus mean be the leaven of Herod? Could it be the lure of materialism, wealth, pride, and selfishness that Herod embodied as he ruled as king of Israel? Those same temptations can seduce many of us in the modern world today.
The leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod call out to us today as we think about not being led into temptation. As we persevere against temptation, may our hearts and prayers be set on the Lord rather than the ways of the world, rather than our own rigid, distorted concepts.
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