For Where Your Treasure Is, There will Your Heart Be Also
Fr Dexter Brereton, CSSp ThM STL
“Sell your possessions and give alms; get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it nor moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
The Gospel reading this Sunday, consists of three sections. The first is a saying on wealth, or rather, true wealth and the two remaining sections are really two parables reflecting on the need for readiness for Jesus’ return. This week, I will reflect on the first section on wealth, especially as it goes well with last Sunday’s gospel which also led us into a sustained reflection on wealth and its negative consequences.
Jesus says: …get purses that do not wear out…I remember as a boy in my parents’ house, I had an uncle who LOVED cars. He talked about them but mostly read about them in stacks of magazines which he kept at the side of the bed. On occasion, he would be driven by his desire, to purchase a new car which my aunt would strongly object to, especially if he did not previously inform her. As I think of this across the years, I see my uncle’s love for cars as a ‘purse that wore out.’ I had the distinct impression that as much as uncle loved the new cars that he bought, there still remained in him some kind of dissatisfaction, a void that remained yet to be filled. His brand-new family car would eventually age and begin to give trouble and my uncle would set his heart on a newer model. Jesus says at the end of this section, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” We all have material possessions or attachments on which we set our hearts, it could be cars, clothes, houses, drugs, money or sex. It could be something as slippery as fame or notoriety. It could also be expectations that we may have for our children, or even goals and desires we have for ourselves. Why are we so attached to these things? What are we really longing for?What is it that we seek? Our “heart” is there, because these attachments tie up all our emotions. They are the driving force of life. These are the things that make us happy. They are what we ‘live’ for. They make us want to go on.
There are times in my life when I feel disappointed with one of my own unhealthy attachments. I find myself longing for a ‘purse that does not wear out’ in heaven where the thief cannot reach it or moth destroy it. I long for something much more solid. I want an ‘attachment’, a ‘treasure’ which would not eventually leave me disappointed. I know that my relationship with Jesus is the one constant in my life, the one thing that never fades and that never leaves me. To be sure, I have lost many, many things in my life, treasures that I thought precious, but my relationship to the Lord has remained a constant in my life over time.
Last of all, in the opening sentence of today’s reading Jesus says “sell your possessions and give alms”. This reminds me of a quotation from Pope Francis’ encyclical Evangelii Gaudium where the Holy Father says “Life grows by being given away. It is weakened in isolation and comfort.” [#10] In other words, it is in GIVING (life to others), that we RECEIVE (eternal life). The Holy Father goes on to point out that the people who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and launch themselves out into the deep communicating life to others. For me, there are days when I am absolutely grateful to God for the years of work that I have done in rural communities, here in Trinidad and in Haiti. This sense of accomplishment, this too is my “treasure.” There is enormous satisfaction to know that in some small way, someone’s life took a turn for the better because I was there. “Selling my possessions” for me means a number of things. It can mean simply selling my material goods. At a deeper level it can also mean setting aside my own ambitions for my own career or my worries over my own health and finances and dedicating myself to the development of another human being. I have been amazed over the years by the stories of parents who, afflicted with serious illness or some personal trauma, manage to keep themselves together for the sake of their young children. They do not hold on to their personal problems like a ‘possession’. They ‘sell’ these possessions in order to give life to their children. Many people serving in our parishes, themselves have potentially serious health conditions, yet are kept alive by their life of service to others.
Lord, we thank you for the service that you call us to give to others. This is how we sell our possessions and give alms. Lord, this service to others is our ‘treasure’ that can never be taken away, treasure in heaven, where the thief cannot reach it, nor moth destroy it. Teach us to value the things that truly matter. Help us to always pursue that ‘purse that never wears out.’ Amen.
