Friday of the 11th week in the ordinary time of the year A
Theme: Your treasure
In the gospel reading of today from St. Mathew, Jesus advises us to build treasure for ourselves in heaven, and not on earth. This is very important for all those who truly desire to make heaven at the end of their earthly pilgrimage here on earth. When we build our treasure in heaven, we are certain that nothing negative can touch or affect it. However, the story is not the same for all those who concentrate on building treasure for themselves here on earth. Any treasure that is built here on earth cannot stand the test of time, in the sense that it may not contribute towards our salvation at the end of our life here on earth.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, we can begin to work on the advice of Jesus in today’s gospel by making a resolve to change our lifestyle and begin to live according to the imperatives of the gospel. When we give God a chance in our daily life, we are already building treasure of ourselves in heaven. If we can achieve this in our daily life, when the time comes, God will say when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was naked you clothed me, when I was in prison you visited me and so forth. This will be the situation for all those who decides to take the admonition of Jesus in todays gospel reading serious. The word of Jesus is a reminder to all of us today, as children of God. It is never too late for us to retrace our steps and embrace the teaching of Christ.
This brings me to a very important question, where is your treasure? Wherever your treasure is, that is where your heart will always be, that is why it is necessary that we build our treasure in heaven and not on earth. There was this story that we were told some time ago, about a man who was travelling back home on vacation. Unfortunately for him, his hand luggage was beyond the accepted kilogram, so he had to check the bag in, like his other bags. The man said that he was restless throughout that flight, until he arrived at his destination and collected that bag. His reason was that he had some very important things in that bag, that would affect his vacation if anything happens to it. So, you can imagine when your goal is to build your treasure in heaven, you will give your best to make it happen. Let us always remember that as children of God, heaven is our goal.
May the Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.