Sermon – Luke 12:32-40 – Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Luke 12:32-40 – Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

August 7, 2016

            We are continuing today with our walk with Jesus from village to village in Galilee and Judah.  Seventy-two of Jesus’ followers have been sent out in groups of two to prepare villages for Jesus’ arrival through hospitality and conversations.  We have learned that we are to love our neighbor, and our neighbor is anyone, even someone of another faith, who is kind to us.  We have learn to pray that the needs of people will be met, and that we should always pray in accordance with God’s will.  And we have learn that forgiving and reconciling with people is far more important than our own economic security.

            Today we will hear Jesus’ teaching about money.  And, as you might expect, Jesus’ idea about money is quite different than ours.  This is because in the Kingdom of God everything is turned upside down.  We will get to this, but first let’s pray.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification.  Amen.”   (John Calvin)

            Today, here in America, people are filled with fears.  After a decade of slow economic growth our fears are on the increase.  Businesses are facing increased competition from abroad, higher taxes, higher minimum wages, and higher tariffs on imported goods.  The effect of this is a drop in profitability and consequently less hiring.  Also increased immigration has increased competition for the jobs that are available.  New college graduates wonder if the education they received actually prepares them for the job market they are facing.  More established workers wonder if their skills and experiences are still relevant today.  And retirees wonder if there are enough workers to support the Social Security retirement system and what government deficits will do to our retirement savings.  All of this causes our fear to grow.  And with growing anxiety, we need to hear from our savior.  So let’s listen to Jesus.

Luke 12: ³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

            You walk into your favorite store.  As you go up and down the aisles you see it.  It is beautiful.  It takes your breath away.  And you have the perfect spot for it.  But you walk away looking at other things, when, all of a sudden, you find yourself looking at it again.  You just have to have it.  So you look at the price tag, and quickly walk away.  It is way too expensive.  It doesn’t fit your budget.  There might be trouble at home if you buy it.  But you have to buy it.  You have the perfect spot for it.  It will look so good there.  So you buy it.  And when you go home you put it in its spot.  You look at it and experience a thrill.  It is so beautiful.  And it is perfect for this room. 

            A few day later you have some friends over for tea.  You hope they will notice it and how beautiful it is.  When no one notices it you pick it up and show it to your friends.  They agree, it is beautiful.  And you have found the perfect spot for it.  Everyone is overjoyed.

            Then a few months pass with it proudly on display until one day when something seems wrong.  It is beautiful, just not as beautiful as before.  And it really doesn’t fit that spot very well any more.  So you move it to a less conspicuous place in the house and put something new in that spot. 

            A few years pass and you notice it collecting dust on a shelf.  It is so old and really doesn’t do anything for you anymore.  So you pick it up and put it in the attic until you find someplace to put it.

            A few decades pass and your daughter comes over to help you move into a retirement home.  She is cleaning out your attic and finds it.  She remembers growing up with it.  And she brings it to you, and asks if you want to bring it.  You don’t want that old thing in your new apartment.  So you put it in the church’s rummage shed where it will be sold for $1 and the proceeds used for local missions.

            This is the way the world usually works.  Where your heart is, there your money will go.  If you value things you will spend your money on things.  If you value your retirement accounts you will save your money.  Whatever you value most, that is where your money goes.  And this is the place where wise preachers will tell you that if Jesus is in your heart then your money should go to the church.

            But according to Jesus in the Kingdom of God the opposite is true.  Our culture says, “where your heart is, there your money will go.”  But Jesus says, that in the Kingdom of God, “were your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Jesus tells us the opposite of what we normally think.  It works this way.  Usually we think that our wants and desires determine what we buy.  But Jesus says what we buy effects our wants and desires.  If money follows your desires then you will buy things that you want.  But what happens if desires follow spending as Jesus suggests?

            Suppose you gather up all the things you have acquired and sell them and then give the money to people who need it, the poor, the homeless, any person living on the margins of society.  What would this do to your heart?  Your heart would soften.  You would become kinder and more generous.  The way your spend your money effects your thoughts and feelings.  So by giving your money to those who need it you become a different person.  You are transformed.

            But, of course we can’t do that.  We love our money.  We love the things we can buy with it.  But money can be lost and things wear out and get old.  They no longer bring you pleasure.  But if you work alongside God, to care for the ones God loves, if you give your money away to those who need it, then you experience great joy, and your fears melt away.  Here is how Jesus put it.

Luke 12:²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds  ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life^[b]? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith  ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

            To seek the kingdom of God, we spend our time and resources to care for those in need.  And as we spend our money to care for others our hearts change, our fears go away, and we become more and more like Christ. Jesus says that we become servants of the kingdom.  And as servants we will be richly blessed by God. 

            Listen to this story about St. Francis.  St. Francis was the son of a nobleman and desired fame and glory.  But God had something different in mind for his life.  One day while St. Francis was praying, Jesus spoke to him from the crucifix on the altar of the church.  Jesus said, “Francis, do you see that my house is in ruin.  Go and restore it for me.”  When Francis heard these words from Jesus, he knew what he had to do.  He stole some fabric from his father’s shop and sold it.  Then he used the money to repair the church.  Of course Francis’ father was angry and called the police.  After months of hiding, Francis presented himself to the bishop.   The bishop said to Francis that he had to restore the money he had stolen from his father.  Francis stood there calmly without fear.  Something had changed in his heart.  He was like a new man.  Francis stood up before the bishop and announced that he was a servant of God.  All of his money belonged to God.  And then Francis removed all his clothes and threw them and what money had on the floor in front of the bishop and his father.  C.K. Chesterton described the scene in this way:

“ “He went out half naked into the winter woods, walking the frozen ground between the frosty trees; a man without a father.  He was penniless, he was parentless, he was to all appearances without a trade or a plan or a hope in the world; and as he went under the frosty trees, he burst suddenly into song.”

           

            St. Francis gave up everything he had.  He lost his old life of privilege.  But he gained a new life.  He shared everything he had for the rest of his days.  And he lived a life of joy.

(https://chapel.duke.edu/sites/default/files/RogerOwens08-11-13.pdf)

            If we give up what we have, God will care for us.  Jesus put it this way.

³⁵ “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. ³⁸ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 

            Jesus’ promise is that if you care for the marginalized with your treasure, then you heart will change, your fears will go away, and God will come to take care of you.  The image Jesus has given us is that of God putting on an apron and serving a banquet to us.  We, who care for others, are cared for by our God.  This banquet, with God as the chef, will occur in the future, and is remembered by us every time we gather around this table.  This is the Lord’s table.  He has prepared for us a great feast.

            So what have we learned from Jesus today.  First, where our treasure is there our hearts will be.  So use your money for God’s purposes, and your hearts will be transformed.  You will become kinder and more generous.  Your fears will go away.  And God will take care of you.  Let’s pray.