Luke 12:32-40       “Possessions and Treasure”

     In this morning’s Gospel Jesus talks about the thief coming in the middle of the night.  That made me think of the books and stories about America’s dumbest criminals.

     Take for instance the one who liked the finer things in life, especially expensive jewelry.  One night he decided to rob a jewelry store.  He spotted a manhole cover.  He then proceeded to pry up this hundred pound mass of steel and heave it through the window.  He grabbed all the rings, watches and diamonds he could carry and took off.  When he turned the corner he almost ran over a couple who was out doing some late night window shopping.  The guy panicked and took off back the way he had come only to suddenly disappear from sight, as he fell down the open manhole.

     Or how about the purse snatcher who was on trial and decided to defend himself.  The victim was describing what happened.  The woman said, “That’s him.  That’s the man who stole my purse.  I saw him as clear as day.  I’d recognize his face anywhere.”   

     The alleged purse snatcher couldn’t stand it.  He let his anger get the best of him and shouted out: “There’s no way you could have seen my face!  I was wearing a mask!”

     Those are funny but unfortunately crime isn’t.  Theft has always been around and I guess it always will be.  Why?  Because we have possessions.  And people fail to follow the 10^th Commandment, “You Shall Not Covet.”  Whenever there are people, possessions and greed, the 8^th Commandment usually gets broken.  Stealing occurs.  The “have nots” want what the “haves” possess.

     In today’s passage Jesus continues his discourse on possessions and treasure.  He says: “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.” (Luke 12:33-34)  Today I want to look at the difference between possessions and treasure.

     There’s probably no argument among us that we all have too much “stuff.”  Cars, computers, televisions, cell phones, shoes, furniture, houses, apartments, all sorts of gadgets and gizmos.  Now it’s not that these things are bad or wrong, but it becomes a matter of how much of it is necessary.  How much do we really need?  For certain, we can’t take it with us.  I’ve done lots of funerals, but you know I’ve yet to see a U-Haul in a funeral procession.

     Yet it’s nearly impossible to get us to part with our “stuff” unless we die or are forced to move.  We keep adding to what we already have.  “Filling bigger barns,” as we heard last week.

     We’ve even built elaborate systems of security to protect our stuff.  We have all kinds of security and alarm systems for our offices, our cars and our homes.  We have internet security when we surf the web and put passwords on our computers to protect our files from prying eyes.  Yet all this is so transitory, as last week I experienced the “blue screen of death” on my laptop computer and had to do a complete reformatting of my hard drive.  And, of course, as you can guess, I lost all my programs and stored information.  Here today; gone tomorrow!

     Shel Silverstein, in his collection of poems entitled, Falling Up, has a little poem entitled “Snowball” that I think sums up the transient nature of things and possessions.

“I made myself a snowball

As perfect as could be.

I thought I’d keep it as a pet

And let it sleep with me.

I made it some pajamas

And a pillow for its head.

Then last night it ran away,

But first – it wet the bed.”

     Jesus reminds us that material things, possessions, our “stuff” is really transient, like that snowball.  It’s not bad. It just isn’t the real treasure.  That’s why Jesus tells us to “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.”

     We make purses for ourselves through our own generosity toward others.  We build a treasure in heaven through reaching out with helping hands to those in less fortunate circumstances.     But the best way is simply through placing our trust in God, not in things or any other security system.  Things don’t really offer any security.  Only God through Christ can offer the real security that we’re all looking for.

     The security of belonging.  The security of knowing that we are loved and accepted no matter what stupid mistakes we make or how miserably we fail.  We all long for the security of the knowledge that we can be forgiven for whatever it is we’ve done that’s driven a wedge between us and our friends; between us and our family; or between us and God.  That kind of security comes from putting our life in the hands and control of Christ our Savior.  For it is Christ and our relationship with God that’s our real treasure, a treasure that can never be taken away from us or destroyed.

     Jenny was a cheerful 5 year old little girl.  Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand one day, she saw a string of white pearls in a pink foil box.  “Oh please, Mommy.  Can I have them?  Please, Mommy, please!”

     The mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face.  “A dollar ninety-five,” her mother said.  “That’s almost $2.00.  If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.  Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”

     As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies.  After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she even went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.  On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.  Jenny loved her pearls.  They made her feel dressed up and grown up.  She wore them everywhere.

     Jenny had a very loving father and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.  One night when he finished, he asked, “Jenny, do you love me?”

     “Oh yes, Daddy.  You know that I love you.”

     Her dad said, “Then give me your pearls.”

     “Oh, Daddy, not my pearls.  But you can have Princess - the white horse from my collection.  The one with the pink tail.  Remember, Daddy?  The one you gave me.  She’s my favorite.”

     “That’s okay, Honey.  Daddy loves you.  Good night.”  And he gave her a kiss.

     About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s dad asked again, “Do you love me?”  Again Jenny said, “Daddy, you know I love you.”  And again her dad said, “Then give me your pearls.”

     “Oh Daddy, not my pearls.  But you can have my baby doll.  The brand new one I got for my birthday.  She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper.”

     “That’s okay.  Sleep well.  God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you.”  And as always, he gave her a gentle kiss.

     A few nights later when her dad came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed.  He noticed her chin was trembling and a tear was rolling down her cheek.

     “What is it, Jenny?  What’s the matter?” he asked.

     Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy.  And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace.  With a quiver, she finally said, “Here, Daddy.  It’s for you.”

     With tears welling up in his own eyes, Jenny’s father reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.  He had had them all the time.  He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

     That is so much like God and we’re so much like Jenny.  We want to hang on to things of this world, the transient, dime store things when God has a greater treasure waiting for each of us.  A treasure beyond compare.  That treasure begins with Christ.

     What are you hanging on to?  What are you afraid to give up?  Whatever it is, know this, the treasure God offers will delight your soul and make you rich beyond compare.  So, what are you waiting for?

                                                AMEN