What We Value Most – October 27, 2024
Psalm 84:5-12, Matthew 6:19-34
October 27, 2024
“What we value most?” That’s the title of this sermon and our thought for the week. As I said last week, we’re looking today at Jesus’ iconic words from the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” I think those are some of the greatest, most insightful words Jesus ever said. And of course, they’re found in the greatest sermon he – or anyone else – ever preached.
He started that part of his sermon by saying this. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal.” I’ve often said that was tantamount to saying, “Do not ‘treasure’ treasure on earth.” That’s what it literally says here. He was using the same word – first as a vowel, and then as a noun. “Do not treasure treasure on earth.” He was giving them a nice little “turn of a phrase.” But I’m asking us today to consider a slightly different word – a different vowel in that sentence. I’m having us look at the word “value.” What do we value? And particularly, I’m asking us what we value most?
I hope you see that the subtle difference there. When we “treasure” something, we highly regard it. We love it, we adore it, and we protect it. But if we think of the word “value,” that’s a little different, isn’t it? It’s still a verb, though. But, when we “value” something, we assign or ascribe great worth to it. That might not be the same kind of emotional response. It might not be the “love” of something. But it does mean an attitude toward something that we deem to be of great worth. It’s a matter of “valuing” whatever it is.
So, by using that word, I’m asking us to consider “What we value most.” I think that brings it a little more into the modern era. But Jesus’ advice here – his exhortation – is still the same. He’s asking us not to value the treasures of earth too highly. And of course, his conclusion is the same. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Maybe you remember the very interesting parable Jesus told about “The Pearl of great price.” It’s a very short parable! It’s only one sentence! He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46) That’s it! And the RSV actually says, “The one pearl of great value.”
Over the years, I think most people have thought of that pearl as an object lesson about the value of the kingdom of heaven. It’s about how we give our whole lives to the kingdom. I know I’ve always seen it that way. But I wonder, could this be one of those times that Jesus was hinting of something else? Was he possibly suggesting that there are some people who “sell out” and give everything for worldly treasure? Jesus often turned the meaning of things around in his parables! He was the master!
He also told “The parable of the leaven” – in that same chapter in Matthew. And again I’ve always thought that as being a positive thing. I’ve understood it to be about the gospel spreading through all aspects of our lives, like leaven – like yeast in bread dough. But there’s a certain interpretation of that which brings in the idea of the leaven in the bread of the Passover. Remember, that’s the feast of “unleavened bread!” The leaven at Passover was seen as bad. And Jesus’ listeners would have known that. Part of the Passover liturgy has people sweeping their houses so that they could be sure there was no leaven anywhere. So Jesus could well have been portraying leaven as the bad influences in our lives, influences that also spread. So, maybe it’s the same with “The pearl of great value.” Maybe that parable did hint of people who would “sell out” and give everything for worldly treasure.
So, like Jesus, I’m asking us today to think about “What We Value Most.” Is it treasures on earth or treasures in heaven? And again, I like the word “value” because it has to do with the “worth” of something. And when we use that word, we usually think of in terms of “how much,” don’t we? How much do we value something? And what things do we value above other things?
What about you? What do you value in this life? And what do you value most? And I’m sure when I ask that, you probably think of the obvious things first – things like people, relationships, family, memories, and experiences. And those things are good! And as Jesus asks us to think in terms of “treasures in heaven,” and I think those things are part of that. They’re some of the wonderful things God has given us in this life. But then he is contrasting those treasures with “treasures on earth” – in other words, “material things,” things that moth and rust consume, things we think are valuable at one point, but years later clutter our attics until we put them out in the trash!
You’ve probably heard this question before. “If your house was on fire, what would you rush in to save?” Wouldn’t that make you think about what you value most? You might say what many people have said. You’d save things like, “family members, pets, and family pictures and heirlooms.” Of course these days that might also mean computers and phones which contain many of the pictures that we value! Think about how you would answer that question.
So now we come to Stewardship time. That’s the time we are asked to make a commitment to the Church for the coming year. And this is definitely a time in which we consider what are the “treasures in heaven.” Our faith is definitely part of that! And I think we’re being asked at this time of year to think about how highly we value our faith. And that’s not always easy, because faith is not something “tangible” that we see every day. It’s not something we take steps to make sure it’s “safe and secure” – like we do our “valuables.” And there’s that word again!
But we do need to keep our faith safe and secure, don’t we? We do need to take steps to protect it. We need to keep it at the top of the list! And one tangible way we do that is to do what Paul wrote about in our scripture last week. It was from II Corinthians 9. Do you remember? He was talking about giving, and he said, “Each of us must do as he has made up his mind.” And as I said last week, that’s the essence of pledging! That’s the choice we make – ahead of time. But remember that he also said that we don’t do that “reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.” And as I said then, that means “God loves people who give out of the joy they have in his kingdom.” And I would add, “God loves people who give out of the knowledge of the true value of his kingdom
So, when we think about “what we value most” – and I hope we will! – may we consider that our faith, and our Church, does needs to be high on that list! And I hope we remember Jesus’ words, that what we treasure – what we value most – is “where our heart will be also.”
Prayer
Eternal God, as we’ll sing in just a moment, we love thy kingdom. And we thank you that we are part of that kingdom, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Help us to see clearly the eternal value of our faith in him, and help us to joyously support and treasure this his body here on earth. For this we pray in his name, Amen.