Matthew 6: 21,22; Mark 9: 2-9

Revisiting Treasure

The Disciples who have followed Jesus up the mountain have seen their lives change over the relatively short time they have been with Jesus. They have left their nets and fishing boats and their villages and give up their livelihood.   But the climb up the Mount of Transfiguration described in the Gospel of Mark takes things to an entirely new level.  They see Jesus transfigured, revealing the Divine in Him.  They are dazzled by what they see.  Undoubtedly this changes the way they look at their life.  We can bet that after this experience they no longer view their nets and their boats as treasures. They have had a taste of heaven and their lives will never be the same.  In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus speaks to the people reminding them that they should not build up their treasures on earth and says: “Where your treasure is there your heart will be also. “   I think the disciples on that mountain certainly get that message. We have talked about the experience of the main character in the film “Still Alice” (Sony Pictures Classic 2015) and about how her understanding of what she treasured changed.   People who are hit with disabilities have similar experiences I am sure.  We talked about Brian Williams and how is understanding of what is most treasured in his life is changing after his fibbing was revealed.

There is an anecdote of a husband and a wife at a party.  They are trying to live a snobbish lifestyle and joined a conversation about Mozart. They heard ”Absolutely brilliant, magnificent, a genius!” The wife wanting to join the conversation, remarked casually:” Ah. Mozart. You’re so right. Love him. Only this morning I saw him getting on the no.5 bus to Coney Island. .” There was a sudden hush and everyone looked at her.  Her husband was mortified. He pulled her away and whispered. “We’re leaving right now. Get your coat, and let’s get out of here.” As they drove home, he kept muttering to himself. Finally his wife turned to him. “You’re angry about something.” “Oh, really? You noticed?” he sneered. “I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life! You saw Mozart take the no.5 bus to Coney Island? …Don’t you know that no.5 bus doesn’t even go out to Coney Island!” (Homiletics, January/February 2015. p. 43).  Friends, their discussion shows us the silly way people cherish their image.

Joel Stein wrote recently in Time Magazine (February 10, 2015) about his small son Laszlo.  Stein says:” I am not a helicopter parent.” He says he doesn’t cramp his child’s life style, but the he says that his son is a “helicopter child.”  Their son Laszlo does not let his parents out of his sight.  This gets a bit too much for Joel. So they decide to give their son a new Korean made communication device; it’s like a cell phone that lets two people communicate with each other only.  The first day Laszlo takes it to school, Joel finds out he already has four missed calls from his son, so he feels really bad.  He treasures his private time so much, that he has forgotten to check his phone.  He expected to be berated by his son, but the boy is really fine. He said his father would call back sooner or later.  The boy has adjusted to a transformation in his life, while the father was still struggling with the right way to handle his parenthood.

Friends, our lives constantly change, they are transformed by aging, by events, by work adjustments, by retirement, by changes in our physical ability.  But sometimes we do not make the adjustments.  We keep treasuring the exact same things.  For Joel Stein it was the privacy of the couple before Laszlo was born.  “Where your treasure is their your heart will be also.”  Stein has not adjusted enough to the reality of the boy treasure he has.  I think this lack of adjustment causes us suffering. In a TV service commercial a stylish Rob Lowe sells direct tv, while his alter ego “peaked-in high school Rob Lowe” has cable.  That Rob Lowe has never gotten out of high school in his mind and still works at the local pizza joint. “Where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.”   This is also a challenge for you and I.  We cause ourselves suffering if we do not adjust our treasure to the changes in our lives.  We cannot go on treasuring our job if we are retired. We cannot treasure our independence solely when we are married. We cannot treasure the freedom of before children if we have children. We cannot treasure having kids in our house when they are in college. “Where you treasure is there your heart will also.  I think that if we find a way to accept our stage in life and the opportunities it affords us, then we may be able to serve God more fully and more joyfully. “Where our treasure is there will our hearts be also.” May God guide us.