"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Jesus ties together his whole sermon with this little
aphorism. It follows immediately upon
last week’s reading about the rich fool who built the big barns. His treasure was on earth, not in heaven. But with this short saying, Jesus invites us
to ponder deeply our own life, our hearts, and our relationship with the
treasures we enjoy.
But he starts with “Do not be anxious”. And in today’s world of high-anxieties, that
may be a hard pill to swallow.
It’s worth mentioning from the outset that the Christian church
doesn’t summarily reject the insights of modern science in helping discover
what makes us tick – and makes us not
tick so well. We recognize that all
truth is God’s truth, and discoveries about creation and our own human biology
and psychology are discoveries about God’s creation. And secular wisdom can contribute to our
understanding of this world – and of things like anxiety. Pastors are not trained psychologists, but I
have learned this: Much like depression, anxiety can have emotional, biophysical
and spiritual components.
And while some do suffer from a clinical form of anxiety, it
seems every one of us can be anxious about this or that, here or there. We don’t profess, in the church, to be
experts on mental illness or neurosis and psychosis. But Jesus Christ always knows what he’s
talking about. And so we certainly want
to lend an ear to Jesus when he speaks to a topic. And we want to apply God’s word of both law
and gospel to the matter, as Jesus himself does here.
So take first this command, “do not be anxious”. It’s a bit convicting. For which of us has not been anxious about
something? In Jesus’ day, when most
people lived hand-to-mouth, you could see how they worried about their food and
clothing. Fat-and-sassy modern Americans
worry less about whether we will eat or be clothed. Rather, our worries of food and clothing run
the way of - what we want for dinner and what’s the best way to express my
personal style now that the new school year is starting. So we may find it hard to relate.
But we do have our anxieties. We may worry about money, retirement,
inflation, the stock market. We may
worry about our kids and the influences over them. We worry about what people think of us, our
reputation, our standing in whatever circles we care about. We worry about the next election and the
state of our government and the direction it’s going. And we worry about our
health – sometimes to the detriment of our health.
But it’s all short-sighted for the Christian. Worry consumes us. Anxiety becomes a burden we were never meant
to carry. And so we are victimized by
our own warped thinking. Jesus is going
to help us re-focus.
Life is more than food and the body more than clothing. We might extend the point: Wealth is more than what’s in your bank
account. Family is more than who lives
in your house. Health is more than the
numbers on your bloodwork. All of these
things have a spiritual analog. All of
these earthly things are reflections of the true, the heavenly treasures.
The stuff of earth is not where our treasures ought to
be. Our treasure is in heaven. So where is our heart?
Jesus’ command here not to worry doesn’t have the force of
law that some of his declarations do. This is not a “woe unto you if you worry” or
“cursed is the man who is anxious”. He’s
not here to scare us into not being fearful.
But rather it’s a gentle corrective couched in some
wonderful promises. He shows that we not
only shouldn’t worry, but he reminds us why we needn’t be anxious. We have a loving Father. So have no fear, little flock, oh you of
little faith!
Seek first the kingdom.
Seek first righteousness. Find
the Father who knows what you need and put your faith and trust in him. Who delights to give you the kingdom. And all the rest of this will work out as he
sees fit.
So if Jesus is your treasure, then your heart is where he
is. If Jesus is in heaven, and he is,
then that’s where you belong, and where your heart belongs. Your mind fixed on things above. Your eyes set on him, Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame.
Faith, in many ways, is the opposite of fear. Faith trusts, where anxiety and worry do not. Faith says, “God has hold of me. Christ has died for me. The Spirit lives within me. What is there to fear?” Faith holds to God’s promises. Worry and anxiety point us to ourselves, our
own efforts, our own plans, and ultimately our own failures. Faith looks outside of oneself and puts all
trust in God’s provision.
Take Abraham. He
worried about who would inherit his wealth.
As he was old and had no heir, it would have gone to a stranger – his
servant – Eliezer of Damascus. Abraham
worried about his legacy. But God had
bigger plans than Abraham could imagine.
He would provide him an heir, oh, but much more. Through the seed of Abraham all nations would
be blessed. Through Christ, the
descendant of Abraham, all the faithful would receive an inheritance far
greater.
Hebrews tells us more about faith today: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Here is the Bible’s own definition of the term. The conviction of things not seen. Funny.
Anxiety also has to do with things unseen – nasty and terrible things
yet to come. But faith is about
assurance and hope, not fear for the worst.
Faith rests in the promises God has made, and knows he will not lie or
fail.
The conviction of things unseen – that Christ has been
raised from the dead! That you and I
will be raised on the last day, incorruptible.
That your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. That here at his altar you receive not just
bread and wine, but Christ’s body and blood.
That the waters of baptism have saved you, and that there you have been
buried and raised with Christ. That one
day Christ will return in glory, and all his angels with him, that you his
faithful sheep will enter into your rest.
You’ve gotta love Hebrews 11, the great “by faith”
chapter. I encourage you to read the
whole thing sometime soon. It’s a parade
of the Old Testament faithful – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Issac and Jacob,
Joseph, Moses..
And then Hebrews winds up the chapter:
32 And what more shall
I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of
David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms,
enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched
the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of
weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received
back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept
release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered
mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned,
they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in
skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the
world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and
caves of the earth.
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did
not receive what was promised,
Hebrews says:
13 These all died in
faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and
greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and
exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are
seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they
had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they
desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
A city unseen. A
homeland eternal. A citizenship in
heaven. Turn your hearts toward this
treasure, and away from the anxieties of this life. Fix your eyes – the eyes of faith – on
Jesus. And tune your ears to his
precious promises. Bring your anxieties to him, cast all your cares on him, for
he cares for you. And live in the
comfort of his precious cross.
Jesus says, “have no fear, little flock”. And faith says, “amen.” And faith says its “amen” by its actions….
Jesus teaches generosity “Sell your possessions, and give to
the needy” It’s the “so what” of all his
generosity. For while emptying your
earthly moneybag, you are receiving a heavenly moneybag – that won’t grow old,
that will never be empty, no thief can steal and no moth can destroy. Faith serves the neighbor because the
faithful know what is not seen is even more sure than what is. Therefore trust God, and love your
neighbor. Do not be anxious, but have a
living and active faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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