The Kingdom of Heaven is Like Leaven

I read the following snippet in an article on Wikipedia discussing Girard’s mimetic theory and whether the unveiling of the scapegoat mechanism in scripture is working:

Has it put an end to the sacrificial order based on violence in the society that has claimed the gospel text as its own religious text? No, he replies, since in order for a truth to have an impact it must find a receptive listener, and men do not change that quickly. The gospel text has instead acted as a ferment that brings about the decomposition of the sacrificial order.

Girard’s reference to “ferment” caught my eye and made me think of several verses in the Gospels that deal with something similar to fermentation:

Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:33

He does not offer much in the way of explanation. Could he have meant that the kingdom of heaven (mercy) is like leaven….like ferment…. that is slowly but surely changing the sacrificial mindset as more and more people are made aware of the voice of the scapegoat through scripture?

Jesus went on to say more about leaven in the following warnings…..

Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Mark 8:15" Beware the leaven of Herod"