Without you O God my table is empty : Make haste O Lord, and do not delay. Amen
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also
Last Sunday we had a great sermon from Steven on the parable of the self-satisfied rich man who built bigger barns to store his grain, laying up ample goods so he could relax, eat drink and be merry, not realising that that very night his soul would be required of him. And whose things would they be? “So it is for those who store up treasures for themselves and are not rich towards God.”
The immediate context of our gospel this morning is the exhortation not to worry – if God so clothes the grass of the fields, alive today and thrown into the oven tomorrow, how more will he clothe you…. your father knows that you need clothing, food and drink. But strive for his Kingdom and these things will be given you as well (Lk 12 : 22-31)
And so to today’s gospel. JESUS says : “Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms.”
Is this a pre-condition for obtaining the gift of the kingdom , I wonder ; or is it the consequence of having obtained that great gift.
In selling our possessions and giving alms, we will be making purses for ourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven where no thief comes near and no moth destroys For where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.
We know how liberating it can be when we get rid of a lot of the clutter that fills our lives …. and even more so when someone else benefits. But what the Lord is demanding is, on the face of it, much more than a clear out in favour of the local charity shop. It is potentially far more radical than that, so radical that it would perhaps be inadvisable to take it literally. And I don’t propose to do so this morning.
What might it mean then for us in a world with an economic basis quite unrecognisable from that of first century Palestine? And we all know what uncertain and shaky things wealth and possessions can be.
There are plenty of metaphorical thieves and moths about, just waiting the chance to rob us of the material things we put our trust in to cover us for the present and the future. We do need money and the necessities of life to make living possible in the 21st Century…………………. but they and the concern they generate can be like the seed that was sown among the thorns – the cares of the world and the lure of wealth, and the anxiety to preserve and increase what we’ve got can choke the seed of God’s gracious offer to us, and so it yields nothing , according to the parable of the Sower.
Each of us has our treasure or treasures here on earth which we can clutch to ourselves………………. or share with others. I, for instance, love good music, and while as Vaughan Williams said, music helps us to see through the magic casements to what lies beyond….. I can see that if I possessed the experience too tightly and exclusively, it might well become an obstacle to that heavenly vision that beckons beyond the open window.
If we are prepared to share what we’ve got, sometimes in a quite generous or even radical way as occasions present themselves, we will have treasure in heaven. As with so many things in this life, we only really possess what we give away.
Paul says in his first letter to Timothy that we are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for ourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of the life that really is life. 1 Timothy 6 : 17-19
Elsewhere, JESUS says that the Kingdom of heaven is like treasure buried in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field.
Ultimately that buried treasure for which we are prepared to give all that we have……… is God…………………… a not unhappy thought and aspiration to hold in our hearts this joyful day, the Lord’s day, whether we have been in retreat this past week or not.
Let us gives thanks to the Father , who has blest us in Christ with every blessing in the heavenly places. Amen