Bible
Study: Wisdom 16, 6 to 9. Hebrews 11, 1 to 2 and 8 to 19. Luke 12, 32 to 48.
No matter how poor we tend to assume
we are, we are never without treasures. Jesus says to us today, “for where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also.” That is to say, if we want to know
our treasures, then we must find out where our minds are. What are you thinking
of right now? Where is your mind? That which you dwell upon day in, day out, is
your treasure. That which is the first think about when you wake up in the
morning, that which sits upon your mind during the day, that which you think of
before you go to bed at night is your treasure.
The question is not about whether we
have treasures or not, the question is if the things we value as treasures are
worth it. Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give alms; provide yourselves
with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not
fail where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” That which can be stolen
or taken away from you is not really a treasure and putting your mind on such
may be futile. As Jesus explains, our true treasures are those things that are
beyond the power of theft or destruction. Our true treasures are the alms we
give out to others. And this is what should occupy our minds.
How often do you think of heaven? How
often do you send something home, that is, by doing charity, by helping others,
by being kind and generous to those in need, by giving without counting the
cost and not expecting to be paid back here on earth. Imagine that whenever we
give out alms, we receive an alert from the bank of heaven, imagine that each
time you show mercy to others and come to their aid, your account swells. Then take
some time out to figure out what your heavenly account balance could be right
now. Is it anything compared to your earthly account balance?
What will it profit us if we die
leaving behind millions in our accounts here on earth only to get to heaven and
meet nothing on our accounts up there? The truth is that we are too busy trying
to make the earth a better place, too busy trying to save for our future here
on earth that we forget to think of, or even prepare for heaven. We are like foreigners
living in a strange land who have forgotten their home. Hence, we need to be
reminded of our true identity once again.
As Jesus tells us today, we are like
men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast. Life
on earth is best understood as a long wait. When was the last time you found
yourself waiting on a long queue? Perhaps in a bank, in a shopping mall or in a
crowded office? What was uppermost on your mind? Imagine waiting on a queue and
forgetting the reason for joining the queue in the first place. That is how it
can be when we forget that life is just a preparation for heaven.
Another analogy Jesus uses to
describe us is that of a householder or landlord. We are in possession of
something so great and so precious and we know there are people who want to
steal it from us. So in other to protect it, we must be on high alert. We cannot
afford to sleep because we do not know when the thief would come. Our life on
earth is just a period of watching. To forget about heaven or to assume we shall
live forever is to sleep off and we cannot afford to sleep as the thief (death)
can come in at any time.
The third analogy Jesus uses is that
of servants. We are servants in the sense that even the very life we live does
not belong to us. None of us brought himself or herself to this world. Life on
earth is nothing short of servitude and like a servant, no matter how hard we
try, we can never attain the level of comfort we so desire. Take a look at any of
our modern residential building, do notice the size of the gateman’s house
compared to the main house? Our earthly life is like living in a gateman’s
apartment compared to what it would be like when eventually we get home to
heaven.
It takes great faith on our part to
believe in the reality of heaven and to live in manner that truly reflects that
the earth is not our final destination. Many find it difficult to prepare for
heaven because they are not convinced of its reality. That is why our second
reading this morning speaks of faith as the assurance of things hoped for and
the conviction of things not seen. We don’t need to see heaven first before we
believe. We do not need to see heaven before we start preparing for it. Abraham
did not see the Promised Land before he began his sojourn. Sarah did not have
the privilege of seeing women of her age become pregnant but she believed in
God’s promise.
Faith empowers us. Faith keeps us
going when things become rough. It was by faith that Abraham agreed to offer
his son Isaac as a Sacrifice. He believed that God was capable of giving him
other children despite his age. We need faith to continue doing good in the
hope that our good works will count for us eventually in heaven. We need faith
to store our treasures in a place where thieves cannot go in and steal and
where moth cannot destroy. We need faith to focus our minds in heaven and live
like men waiting for their master to return.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, help us to keep faith
alive so that whenever you come, we may be fully prepared. Amen.
Good morning. Be Happy. Live
Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. Happy Sunday.
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