Word to the Wise
Friday, June 19, 2015 - Friday in the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Cor 11:18, 21-30 and Matt 6:19-23,993]Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is there also will your heart be. [Matthew]
It can be a sobering experience as well as a joyful one to come to terms with one's treasure. Student parishioners of mine at the University of Arizona back in the late 1970's will remember retreats where they were challenged to decide what was most important to them and in what order would they be willing to let go of them. There were tears aplenty!
Storing up treasures in heaven is not like a modern bank account. Heaven is our relationship with God. If God is secondary to any other "treasure," then we know our hearts are directed elsewhere. Jesus makes it clear in the gospels that following him must come first. Everything else - relationships, possessions, ideas - must come second, if at all. Sometimes we are unconscious of our "treasures," and only a process of spiritual direction can help us uncover these. In any case, we know what the challenge is! AMEN