Text: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21.)

Remember the first time you heard those words from the Sermon on the Mount? We read them during our morning devotions. I suppose at the time you were more interested in what the moths looked like and how the rust got in than you were in any deeper meaning. The idea of thieves breaking in reminded you of some cops and robbers show you’d seen on television. How your few treasures – your toy trucks and the teddy bear you didn’t want your friends to know you still slept with and the shells you’d collected at the beach – related to your heart seemed beyond your comprehension.

But as you grew, all the things the other kids had or could do that we could not afford weighed heavily on you. Being the child of a preacher wasn’t easy; following Jesus was even more difficult. Treasures in heaven seemed awfully far away, if not downright unreal. The things you wanted, that you said you had to have or you’d just die, did have an affect on your heart and there was a long struggle with your father and me before you came to see how the things you were attaching your identity to were causing your heart to shrink. Your material desires were damaging your relationships with the people who loved you most. Of course, we wanted you to have your heart’s desires, but we couldn’t give you all the things you wanted. We just couldn’t. Our resources were limited and your sisters and brothers had needs and desires, too.

It was such a relief and a blessing for me when you came to realize the link between the things that really mattered to you and your spiritual condition. You were the one who first called your heart God’s treasure chest. I think it was after a particularly difficult ending to a friendship in which you’d been put down for not fitting in, not being part of the crowd. There was a dawning realization in the middle of that pain that you were good enough, that you had gifts of intellect and compassion that were more important to you than fitting in. There were people who loved and valued for you were – smart, kind, warm and loving. In the end, the stuff, the popularity, the fitting in didn’t matter compared to what you held in your heart. Resenting your life situation, fighting with your family, wrestling against your beliefs and values all caused you a great deal of heartache. Letting go wasn’t easy, but you became much happier as you learned to see God’s treasure chest as yours also.

Jesus said, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21.)

Oh, this was such a hard one. The young man came to Jesus so full of life and hope. You could see in his eyes that he was drawn to Jesus. “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus must have sensed immediately that it was the wrong question. It was the question of someone who was used to dealing with quantities and not qualities. It was the question of someone who believed that there was something he could do to EARN eternal life. After a brief discourse on what he meant by good, Jesus told him to keep the commandments. Jesus had to know that he was not ready to hear the hard truth. Still obsessed with quantifiable measurements, the young man asked him, “Which ones?” After Jesus reeled off most of the Ten Commandments, the young man got to the heart of the matter. “I have kept all of these; what do I still lack?” It was quite remarkable that the rather than trumpet his goodness in keeping the commandments, the young man acknowledged that something was still missing. He knew in his heart he lacked something.

Jesus must have looked at him wistfully when he told him that “if he wanted to be perfect,” that is, if he wanted to be complete, whole, he needed to attend to God’s treasure chest. You see he had stored up great treasure for himself on earth, and that’s exactly where his heart was, earth bound, weighed down by his wealth as surely as Marley’s ghost was shackled by his. How is he ever going to be able to follow Jesus with all that stuff and such a heavy heart? When he heard the word, he went away grieving. Jesus had not given him the right answer to the wrong question and he could not find a way to let go of all he had. Moving his trust to God’s treasure chest was more than he could handle.

Paul said, “…we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7.)

“… since it’s by God’s mercy,” he tells those rascals in Corinth, “that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:1-2.) “For we do not proclaim ourselves,” he continues, “we proclaim Christ as Lord. For it is the God who said, ‘Let the light shine out of the darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:5-6.) This is the treasure that we have in earthen vessels. That is, the gospel lives in such as Paul, with all his human limitations. God’s treasure chest is hidden in the hearts of very human beings.

The light shines out of the darkness and it is reflected throughout the world by those of us who see and believe, who follow and serve. God’s light shines forth from very ordinary missionaries and ministers and Sunday School teachers, from mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and grandparents and even an occasional aunt or uncle; from shop keepers and business executives and day laborers; from doctors and nurses and orderlies; from farmers and gardeners and truck drivers and people down on their luck. Down through the ages the light has been re-kindled over and over again in people of faith who have kept the good treasure rich and alive in their hearts and in their lives, who have radiated the faith in ways that have shaped the hearts and lives of succeeding generations right down to you and me. So, the questions come to you and me, what is it that we truly treasure? Where do we keep it? How do we share it? How does it affect our heart health?

The writer of 2 Timothy said, “Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us” (2 Timothy 1:14.)

It then comes to us to worship with a clear conscience, to rekindle the gifts of God that are within, to claim the spirit of power and love and self-discipline, to testify about Jesus Christ, even to suffer for the gospel, holding to the standard of sound teaching…in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This is a lot for the writer to lay on the young minister here called Timothy and by extension it’s a lot for us. This business of discipleship is demanding, hard…trying to align our treasure with our hearts, giving up all our cool stuff in exchange for a promise of some heavenly treasure and then only after following Jesus to the cross, trying to be a light in a world that is often dark and frightening.

It’s no wonder this Timothy needs a pep talk from his mentor. And the mentor has to do some fancy talking to be persuasive, given that he himself is in prison facing execution for being Christian and preaching the gospel. “Hey, Tim, remember all those things you learned from your mom and grandma; remember those powerful days when you were baptized and then ordained; remember what I taught you about the grace of God, that grace that surrounds us and catches us up and carries us forward; remember that part about how Jesus did away with death and brought eternity right into daily living? Look at me, kid. I’m in jail here and still I haven’t given up the fight. Yes, it’s been rough. I’ve been laughed at, ridiculed, shamed, beaten, and a few other things I won’t mention, but it just doesn’t matter. God’s treasure chest is buried deep in my heart and there’s no way they can get to it. I’ve carried this good news about love and liberation, about justice and peace, about healing and hope, about faith and the transforming power of God around with me long enough to know it’s the real deal. It’s what matters in the end. I know from experience who is trustworthy and that’s where I’ve put my trust. I’m urging you to do the same. It may not look like it at the moment, kid, but there’s no place you’re going to get a better return.”

Or in our words of preparation from Thomas Merton, “I have the immense joy of being [human], a member of a race in which God became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are walking around shining like the sun” (Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander.) Here is the good treasure, admittedly held in earthen vessels, and yet what wondrous vessels, human hearts, our hearts, God’s treasure chests. Here we find joy, here we find love, here we find faith, here we find hope, here we find justice, here we find peace, here we find liberation, here we find good news, here we find the beloved community, because here we find the grace of God who made us to shine like the sun. God give us eyes to see and hearts to hold such treasure.