The twelfth chapter of Luke’s gospel finds Jesus addressing a laundry list of themes. There is a warning to beware of the hypocrisy exhibited by the Pharisees. There is an admonition to fear no man, but to fear God, another to acknowledge Christ before men. Jesus tells a parable about a rich farmer who, when confronted with his massive wealth, chooses to build bigger barns to store his crop rather than to share it. Jesus calls him a fool because the treasure he lays up is earthly and fleeting and cannot follow him in the life to come. Then, Jesus turns to the subject of anxiety. His advice is to seek the kingdom of God
Later in the chapter, Jesus warns that we must be ready. Though he is still living and talking to his disciples, he speaks of a future which they cannot yet grasp. He tells them that they must be ready, that “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” The disciples couldn’t understand it at the time, but later they would come to know what Jesus meant.
But before Jesus talks about being ready, he stops to give some comforting words and to provide us with some marching orders on how to live our lives and on what our investment portfolio should look like. He talks about our Father’s good pleasure, about that with which we will provide ourselves, and what our treasure is. He wants his disciples, and us, to see that the real treasure is not in what we have, but rather in who we are and how we act.
This chapter is a mixed bag when it comes to Jesus’ audience. The chapter begins with many thousands of people gathered together, and yet Jesus begins by talking to his disciples. He next addresses his friends, who might well be his disciples still, then seems to turn to the crowd. Someone in the crowd asks him a question, and Jesus answers him. Then Jesus again turns to his disciples to talk about worry. In the next paragraph, Jesus addresses his “little flock,” apparently alluding once more to the disciples.
So is the message of chapter 12 a message to Jesus’ disciples? Some theologians say so and draw more narrow conclusions about the meaning of Jesus’ remarks. There is one point where Jesus answers a question from someone in the crowd, so at least part of this discourse is meant for everyone. Some scholars point to this as evidence that Jesus is addressing all of those present. It seems to me that Jesus does both, but more importantly, all of it is reported in Luke’s gospel, so all of it is there as a lesson to me and you. If you are a seeker, then you are like the person in the crowd seeking Jesus’ advice. If you have been saved, then you are a disciple. Either way, Jesus is talking to you. What is his message to you?
I went to say good bye to a friend this week. She was thirteen years my senior. Too young to be a mother figure, too old to be a close friend and yet, that’s exactly what she was. She was my friend. She cared about me. I came to visit her a couple weeks before she died. I knew she was in pain from the cancer, but I couldn’t find it in her eyes. I barely got to ask her anything. I was too busy answering her questions. She took the lead as always, wanting to know about our children, about my ministry. After the funeral, my wife commented how close she had felt to our friend and I had to laugh, for that’s the way everyone felt about this kind and gentle rock of a Christian. We all claimed her as our special friend, but she belonged to a community of friends to whom she had been so loving and gracious for so long. Her name was Joanne and she knew where her treasure is.
At Joanne’s funeral, a neighbor and her daughters sat in front of us. She is a cancer survivor and a strong Christian. She is a beautiful woman about my wife’s age. For a decade, she has raised her two daughters by herself. They were there with her. Now in high school, they are striking in their appearance. Blessed with the genes of their mother, the three of them made quite a statement. This is particularly true in light of their mother’s steadfast loyalty to her daughters and our God through many years of being a single parent. She carries her burden so lightly that it appears invisible. Her name is Jane and I’m pretty sure that she knows where her treasure is too.
I share these little stories because I am connected to these people. As I mature in Christ, I understand more fully what that means. To be connected to people in relationship is to open one’s heart to the treasure that God has promised us. It is in these relationships that God reveals his loving nature to us, and through which we become more able to understand and accept that unconditional love. Jesus said: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Jesus went on. “Sell your possessions and give to the needy.” What’s that all about? Well, Jesus didn’t say to sell all your possessions and I doubt that’s what he meant either. I think what he meant was to share the blessings you have been given, and to share those blessings especially with those who need them. I think he meant for you and me to give of who we are and not just from the excess with which we find ourselves. Do you have a gift for hospitality? Share it. Do you have a lot of money? Give some away. Do you have a voice? Sing for God. If you believe that Jesus died for you and that he will come again, if you believe that heaven waits on the other side of this earthly life, then do some heavenly estate planning. Invest in a “whole life” policy instead of just a term policy. It builds value. You see, we don’t really get to retire. We just change addresses. Our father has given us the kingdom and that is our real security.
This is an old farming community, so everyone is used to seeing tractors. How silly would it be to see someone hitching up a plow to the front of a tractor! And yet, friends, how often do we do exactly that with the lives that God has given us! Instead of calling on our heavenly Father and accumulating heavenly treasure, we lean on the things of this world. We want security and we trust to a bank or the company retirement plan to provide it for us. We want to trust, but we put our trust in jars of clay. People and human institutions let us down. That includes the church, for while it is ordained by God, it too is subject to human frailty.
Not so with God. “Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” Imagine. No aging. No rust. No thievery. No mildew. That’s real security.
How do we capture that which God promises? We let go. [Take out keys]. I heard someone talking about possessions and material things a couple weeks ago and I love what she said. She said having things is OK, but as Christians, we must hold on to these things loosely. I look at these keys in my hand and I try to imagine that they represent all the material things I own. I have them. I control them. As long as I hold them loosely, I can stay in control. My possessions should be like these keys, dangling loosely on a ring, ready on short notice to be exchanged or even removed. [Throw the keys to someone]. See? I can let them go if I hold them loosely. I can surrender them or pass them on to someone else. I am still in control.
But what if I hold on too tightly? [Throw the keys back]. Then the things of my life begin to control me. Now where is my treasure? Is it in my wallet? Is it in my possessions? I have made my own God. I can no longer see the treasure that my friend Joanne showed me, that Jesus promises, for I am blinded by my own light, guided by my own selfish desires.
God has promised us treasure in the heavens. He has promised eternal life and life abundant. But he has given us the power to reject. We can choose to be selfish. We can choose to build up our treasures here on earth. The only problem is that those treasures cannot save us from death. Only God can do that.
Where is your treasure? Are you seeking the kingdom? If you do that first, everything else that your heart desires will be added to it. We have God’s promise for that. Or are you seeking to please yourself and give God the leftovers? If you don’t like the answers that are ringing in your heart, then change it. All you have to do is ask. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Amen
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