The Leaven of Christ

Gospel Reflection for Tuesday, Feb. 17th, 2026 - Mark 8:14-21

“Do you still not understand?”

How many times have I heard the Gospel of Christ in my life? I couldn’t possibly begin to count, and yet I heard this question whispered through the pages at me as I read.

In today’s Gospel we see the disciples in a boat with only one loaf of bread. Jesus, never missing a moment to teach, cautions them “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod”

The disciples don’t understand, after all, it seems. They assume He is speaking about their lack of preparation, that Jesus is talking about bread.

They miss the message.

Jesus, perhaps frustrated, or perhaps concerned, responds “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?” He goes on to ask if their hearts are hardened to what He said, or perhaps their eyes cannot see or their ears cannot hear. Yet, Jesus states, that can’t be true because the disciples were with Him at the feeding of the five thousand and four thousand. They saw, they heard, and when asked by Jesus, they even knew down to the basket how much food was left over.

No, Jesus is making clear that what He has said about the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod has nothing to do with bread but with them.

With us.

Leaven in the Bible represents something that spreads to the whole such as the Kingdom of heaven as Mt. 13:33 tells us, or in Mt. 16:12, it can be like the teachings of the Pharisees.

Friends, this passage is as relevant today as it was the moment Jesus uttered these words. In a world filled with influences surrounding our daily lives, we have to ask ourselves “do I still not understand” that what I allow in my life shapes my life, shapes my mind, shapes my soul, and affects my ability to follow Christ?

Do I still not understand the profound effect that a small amount of leaven of greed, or lust, or envy or gluttony may have on the whole of my being? Slowly but surely changing me, not into the image and likeness of our Lord but into something darker, more self centered, and self serving?

And do I still not understand the incredible sacrifice that Christ has made for me, that I may partake in the works of the Kingdom of God, right here, right now? That this leaven may permeate my whole being, seeping into my very bones, bringing me closer to the heart of God?

As Lent approaches this is the perfect Gospel reading to jump start our examination of conscience, to dig deep, and to truly face ourselves as we are, asking Jesus to help us understand, and to choose His leaven above all else.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod."
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
"Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?"
They answered him, "Twelve."
"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?"
They answered him, "Seven."
He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"