Today’s question involves something that should be of interest to each one of us. It comes from today’s gospel reading. It may be a question you’ve already guessed I might ask. My question is this: When you think of a “treasure,” what do you think of; what do you see; what do you envision?
For many people, the word “treasure” is linked immediately to an image of a “treasure chest” — one in which we find jewels and gold. Treasure is something you find buried by someone else. It’s hidden until you find it, uncover it.
However, what would your response be if I had asked: What is your treasure? The chances are you would not have thought of buried gold and jewels, but rather of living things, of relationships, possibly your children or your spouse or your own parents. Most of us take seriously, the line spoken by Jesus at the beginning of today’s gospel: “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” Our treasure, rightfully, is the center of our lives. It is life, itself, just as the heart is the center of our life, and represents life, itself.
All of us want our treasure to be safe, to be protected. We desire the security of our treasure for its own sake, as well as for our own. Most of the time we want our treasure to increase, to grow in size and in importance in our lives. We become upset if the size of our physical treasure decreases, if our savings or retirement funds decline. We also become disturbed if our relationships with others are disrupted. In either case we worry about the future.
It is then that we might recall the words Jesus spoke at the very beginning of today’s gospel reading. Before talking about any “treasure,” Jesus addressed his disciples with instructions such as: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. [Give part of your wealth to others.] Provide moneybags for yourselves that do not wear out. [Do not be concerned about where to store the surplus wealth you want to carry with you in this world.] An inexhaustible treasure in heaven [awaits you. A treasure] that no thief can reach, nor moth destroy. [A treasure that cannot be taken from you by another person. A treasure that cannot be destroyed by natural disintegration.]
The real question which Jesus poses for us, might be: When you think of treasure, when you think of where your heart is to reside, do you realize that your treasure is the kingdom of God which the Father has already given you? Given to you as a gift, not as something buried in the earth. And along with this gift of the Kingdom, the Father has given us another gift, the gift of Faith.
In the opening line from the Letter to the Hebrews, we heard moments ago, Saint Paul gave us a definition of faith. He said: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Faith is the becoming “more real” of what is already real, but not yet seen.
● The Kingdom of God, the Reign of God, exists right now; but it is not seen in its totality.
● The Kingdom of God is our treasure, but we do not see it completely at this moment.
Again, in the words of St Paul: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for, and evidence of things not seen.”
“What is hoped for …” Just what is hope? For many, hope is the expectation of future, positive outcomes. Its opposite is dread. Dread is the expectation of future, negative outcomes.
● Every time we look at today’s stock market, we wait with either hope or dread about its outcomes for tomorrow.
● Every time we go to a physician and await our diagnosis, we wait with either hope or dread.
In our human lives we do a lot of waiting, including our waiting for the Return of Christ – for the fulfilment of the Kingdom, the fulfilment of the promise he made to us. And in this period of “waiting,” we are reminded that we have been given the gift of Faith and we are to use this gift of Faith as we’re to use all of the other gifts God has given us.
And how are we to make use of our gift of Faith? Paul in his Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of the faith of Abraham – our guide to what it means to be faithful. In our second reading for today, Paul recounts the history of Abraham. Saint Paul says: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”
We too, are to obey, to listen intently to God’s call, to His desire for us to go forward and seek the inheritance He has given each one of us. We are called to be part of the journey to the Kingdom of God. Secondly, Paul writes: “By faith [Abraham] sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country …” We, too, are to travel in unfriendly and unknown terrain in our daily journey in and toward the Reign of God. Paul then states: “By faith [Abraham] received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age … for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.”
Yes, although Abraham was very old, he had been promised that he and his elderly wife, Sarah, would have a son and that his “descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sands on the seashore.” And Abraham maintained this faith because, as Paul writes, “… [Abraham] thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.”
“Trustworthy.” Trust … the belief – the unmeasurable surety – by which we know
● that another person will do no harm to us,
● that the one we trust, has our best interests at heart at all times,
● that the one we trust, loves us completely and without any conditions.
In our first reading from the Book of Wisdom, we heard about the night of the Passover and how the Israelites had “sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith [and had courage as they] awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes.” Like Abraham, they, too, had faith and believed that their God is trustworthy. They recalled how Abraham
● heard the call of God,
● responded to the call,
● continued on the path set by God and
● initiated whatever is needed to complete the call.
Perhaps in our faithful waiting for our salvation, we are to be like Abraham: to hear, to respond, to continue, to initiate.
Jesus promised his disciples – and he promises us: “the Father gives you the kingdom.” However, he also told his friends: do not wait passively. Be active while you await the return of the groom. Continue to work at the tasks assigned to you. Do your jobs faithfully. Don’t wait until the last minute to do what the Lord and Master wants of you. And if you do all of this, when the Lord and Master returns to you, he will serve you as you have served him.
Yes, our treasure, is to be fully revealed to us when Christ returns. At each Eucharist we pray for his Return, his Second Coming. We sometimes fail to realize that his Return to us is also the Treasure we seek – a Treasure in Heaven which has been promised to us – a Treasure that provides, ultimately, our peace and our security. The treasure we know as our Trinitarian God: Our Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time; August 8, 2010
Wis 18: 6-9; Heb (Short Form: 11:1-2, 8-12); Lk (Short Form: 12: 35 -40, but include 32-34 opening verses!)