August 11, 2019
Pastor Mary Erickson
Hope Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, WI
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40
The Heart’s Treasure
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Antiques Roadshow has been a longstanding popular show on PBS. People bring their antique treasures and experts tell them about the items they’ve brought in. It’s amazing what people bring: Chinese vases, old pocket watches, Civil War guns, Turkish rugs, paintings, windup toys, baseball memorabilia, even furniture. I’m always amazed when people go to the Herculean effort to bring a gigantic old wardrobe or heavy oaken table. Whew! They must have a lot of help to lug that item all the way to the show!
After the antique expert shares about the provenance of the item on display, they always close with an estimate of its value. It’s surprising what some of the items are worth!
Typically, the people who brought the item share how they acquired it. I remember this one person who rescued a painting from a garbage can in a back alley! He liked it and took it home. It turns out that it was a painting by a very important modern abstract artist and was worth tons of money. As they say, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”
Several years ago, a couple from Menomonie went to the Antiques Roadshow when it was held in the Twin Cities. They took with them one of those British Toby Mugs. You know, those whimsical ceramic mugs that’ve been shaped and painted to look like someone’s head. It turns out that their mug was worth quite a handy sum of money.
But the mug wasn’t what they treasured. Their heart’s desire was to have another child. They had already had one child. But they’d been unable to conceive again. When they looked at that mug, it wasn’t the face on the mug they saw. They saw the face of a child. If they sold that mug, they would have the funds to pursue a foreign adoption. That’s what they did, and that’s how they adopted their second child.
Our heart’s desire and our treasures. Jesus reflects on these things in our reading today from Luke: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Our heart’s grounding is our anchorage. Our heart’s treasure forms the basis upon which our entire life is built: all our meaning, all our focus, all of our purpose, all that matters to us.
When I was a Bible camp counselor, the camp I worked at had this old potter’s wheel. The wheel was very old school – it had a heavy millstone underneath. You had to kick it and kick it until you got the wheel to spin fast enough.
A fellow counselor had experience throwing pots on a wheel, and she gave us lessons on how to make a pot. After you got the wheel going fast, you had to throw your blob of clay onto the wheel.
Then next step was critical. You have use your hands to center the clay on the wheel. The clay has to be perfectly centered on the wheel. If it’s off just a little bit, you’ll wreck your pot. As you build up the sides of the pot, the balance will be off. The pot will go wonky and collapse.
The clay must be perfectly centered on the wheel. It’s the basis for all that will come.
What the treasure of our heart is becomes our centering. If our heart’s treasure is personal power, then that will become the foundation of our life. We will seek after power. We’ll need to be in control at all times. We will need to wield more influence than anyone else around us.
If riches and possessions are the treasure of our heart, then our lives will be focused on things and on wealth. We’ll always be searching after one more thing. We’ll have to stow away more and more money in our bank accounts, in our 401K’s. In spite of our wealth, we’ll have little or no money left over for anyone other than ourselves.
It might be beauty and looks. Or maybe our treasure is victory in sports. Maybe we ground our being in the success of our family. But these are all temporal things.
Jesus encourages us to center our heart on what really matters. He tells us to look to that which is eternal. All these other things, he says, don’t worry about them! “Fear not, little flock,” he says. “Don’t fret over these things, don’t worry yourself awake at three in the morning over them. Don’t work yourself to the bone in pursuing them. Because here’s the truth: it’s your Father’s good pleasure to GIVE you the kingdom!”
Elsewhere, Jesus also said this, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Luke 6:38)
Jesus’ message is that we need not worry after all of these worldly matters. Our loving and good God provides us with daily bread. God is good and God provides. And if our heart is grounded in the assurance of God’s goodness and faithfulness, then we will have treasures that won’t wear out. No thief can steal our treasure, no moth can destroy. We don’t have to live in continual fear that we’ll lose our grounding in the world.
The passage we heard from Hebrews relates a shining example of faith. Abraham was living in his home country when God called to him. God directed Abraham to leave his family and his home and go to a faraway land. There, God would make a great nation from Abraham’s descendants. And at the time Abraham did this, he didn’t have a single offspring. Abraham and Sarah were childless – AND old! But off they went. Abraham believed in the promise of God. And in his heart, he could see the fulfillment of that promise. God’s promise was his treasure.
Abraham planted God’s promise in his heart and let it grow there. And from his heart Abraham felt a pulling, a calling, to trust and obey God. Fear didn’t rule him.
Trusting in God’s faithfulness allows us to live freely and without fear. It allows us to venture outward – outward in faith and outward in good will for others.
Abraham heard God’s calling and was ready to respond. Jesus makes a similar comment. He says, “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like those servants who were ready for the their master to knock in the dead of the night. As soon as he knocked on the door, they were ready to respond.”
It reminds me of something that happened when Sir Ernest Shackleton made his attempt to cross Antarctica in 1914. Their ship, the Endurance, became frozen in ice as they approached Antarctica. The crew needed to abandon the ship and seek other shelter. They travelled by foot over the ice, dragging their lifeboats and essentials. Eventually they reached Elephant Island. Once there, they outfitted one of the lifeboats for sea.
The majority of the crew stayed on that tiny island while Shackleton and five other men ventured in the small vessel to reach a remote whaling station 750 miles away. From there a rescue party was sent to retrieve the remaining crew on Elephant Island.
It would take Shackleton four months to make that rescue journey. Meanwhile, his crew on Elephant Island kept up a constant vigil. They kept constant watch of the sea. For they knew that when help arrived, they would have very little opportunity to make their escape because of the ice conditions.
They were dressed for action and ready to respond in an instant.
This is the vigilance that Jesus calls us to. When opportunity to serve comes our way, we’re looking for it. Our eyes are open to respond!
Sometimes congregations can be dominated by a spirit of fear.
They’re intimidated to step outside their established ministries. They’re afraid of biting off too much. But Hope’s spirit is one that’s open and receptive to service. We have a heart for mission.
Recently we were presented with opportunity to serve our community. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is an organization that makes and provides twin beds for children who don’t have a bed of their own. It’s become apparent that the Eau Claire area can use a local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Many children in our area don’t have a bed to sleep on. Hope was approached to see if we might be interested in organizing a local chapter.
We were dressed for action and our lamps were lit! When the request came, we were able to respond to the call. Hope is now the host of an Eau Claire area chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. We’ll hold a team leaders’ build later this month.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I’ve witnessed our congregation’s heart for mission. Whether it be enthusiastically helping to host an awesome week of Vacation Bible School, or backing our youth as they serve with Appalachian Service Project, or eagerly supporting our new mission venture with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, it’s evident that Hope treasures mission.
Friends, make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Amen.
