Where Is Your Treasure?

 

Where Is Your Treasure?

 

“Do not be afraid little flock…”  I love the beginning of this week’s gospel reading, it is comforting to know that Jesus was addressing a small group: “Do not be afraid little flock…”

But Luke 12:32-40 can be fairly said to contain mixed metaphors, in fact, you might even say that it is a symbolic  salad rich with borrowed imagery. Indeed, this passage is a chef’s salad of mixed metaphors:

Flock, kingdom, Father, purse, thief, moth, lamps, wedding banquet, door, knocking, belt, master, slaves, sitting, eating, house, kingdom.

Yes, this passage employs a great amount of symbolic language in a few sentences.

‘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. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes;

truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’ Luke 12:32-40

If we wanted to express the meaning today of what is written in this passage, but do so without the use of symbolic language it might sound something like this:

Do not be afraid, God desires to bless you in the divine reign. Sell your possessions and give offerings. Hold onto the spiritual for that is what matters and does not fade away. For whatever you value, draws your devotion to it. You will be blessed by your holy attention.

Be ready for those moments of spiritual awareness. Those who are spiritually alert will be blessed.  Truly, I tell you, God desires to be present in your life and give you spiritual blessings. Blessings can come at any time, so be spiritually aware at all times. Christ’s promised return, (however it is experienced), can transpire at any time. You also must be ready, for Christ is coming at an unexpected hour.   

I am able to read this passage therefore, as an invitation to spiritual formation and a call for holy attention. While this passage often leads to a discussion of stewardship and giving by preachers like me, at its heart it draws attention to the holy. What really matters in life is not possessions and things of monetary value but rather the spiritual reality and mission of the divine realm that Jesus draws attention to in this passage of scripture from Luke. For me and for those I journey with in Community of Christ, what matters most is the mission of Jesus Christ.

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