Recently, our readings have discussed possessions and following Jesus. Last Sunday Jesus said: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
In the Daily Readings for Friday Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
In today’s Gospel Jesus said: “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” It’s so easy to become enthralled with the good feeling we get when we buy something. We enjoy looking great in the new clothes we bought or enjoy watching the new ‘big screen’ tv. The new car shows that we have achieved success and are living the good life.
We typically think about the “Treasures” being things that we can touch, hold, or in the case of electronics, listen to the latest hits and stream the latest movies and shows.
That “Treasure” that Jesus was talking about can be more than physical possessions. When we succeed at work or school and others praise us or admire our achievements, we glory in their praise.
That “Treasure” can also be a spouse, a child or even a cause. It’s easy to get wrapped up in a cause like the Pro-Life movement or a political party, an environmental cause like Climate Change or be so focused on the current crisis in the world or social media that it consumes all our time.
It becomes our treasure because that’s where all our energy and effort go to the detriment of other, more important needs in our lives. And it happens so easy that we don’t even recognize that it is happening.
Gymnastics, baseball, and soccer demand most of the weekend and many evenings. And let us not forget RE for the youngest child on Sunday morning, Confirmation class for the oldest child on Wednesday evening, and youth group for the other two on Sunday evening.
Parents with children at home wonder how they can keep up with it all. A newborn is a blessing and a joy while at the same time needing feeding, changing, and cuddling.
More often today, in addition to taking care of their children, parents find they are taking care of their parents too. As their parents age and begin to need help, that takes time to pick up medications, go to the grocery store, stop and check to make sure they are ok. It all takes time and can become a nightmare to keep up with it all.
We think that once we retire life will be our own. But that really doesn’t happen. We have grandchildren to watch, Bible Study, Prayer Group, and Daily Mass.
None of these things are evil or bad. The problem is that these things and activities become the focus of our life. We fail to read scripture and pray like we should because we are too busy with Life. It’s easier to sit in front of the tv or reply to social media than to spend time with God.
We can even be doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. We volunteer at the Food Bank so people will see us and think well of us or complement us on our service. The gratification we get from being recognized and honored is the primary reason we serve, instead of helping others know that God loves them and is providing for their needs.
Jesus tells us to serve others to share God’s love with them rather than for the good feeling we get when others tell us how great we are for serving others. A humble heart serving others is visible to those we serve. They can tell when we are simply going through the motions, or when we are truly sharing God’s love to support them in their time of need.
This also applies to our family and spiritual life too. We can be so busy that we fail to take time to spend with our spouse – alone. Just the two of you talking, holding each other, praying together for God’s guidance.
We can get so busy that it is impossible to quiet our minds to read the scriptures, ponder meditations, pray, and spend some time alone with God. The things we need to do at work tomorrow, trying to remember to take a child to school in the evening for band practice, get milk on the way home from work, and …. and … and the list goes on and on.
All these things are important. Forgetting a task at work might mean a corrective action or a lost promotion. Forgetting to take a child to school for band practice means a hurt and irate teenager.
I understand; I’m retired, and I struggle with the same distractions when I pray a rosary, pray morning and evening prayer or Compline. There are things I must remember to do and I’m afraid I will forget. Trying to concentrate on the eternal treasure with all these distractions is difficult.
Do these pressures make you feel overwhelmed at times, or maybe most of the time? If so, do not feel alone; it happens to all of us. We all struggle with the challenges of life. We struggle with how to both; survive life and serve God in the daily grind. It’s not easy.
Sister Joyce Zimmerman helps us put things into perspective when she wrote: “There are many treasures found in this life, for example, family, home, community, friendship, integrity. Good as these are, they are nonetheless exhaustible. What the Father offers us is an inexhaustible Treasure: the fullness of the Life of the risen Lord.”
Each of us must decide. Am I truly seeking an inexhaustible treasure in heaven? Do my actions show it? Where is my heart?
