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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007 Ordination of Louise Christensen
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
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Time after Pentecost #19 (C) How many of you have ever seen television commercials for MasterCard? You know – the ones that show the cost of various items or services one by one. For example, they’ll say…Cost of tickets - $62. Baseball gloves - $36. Ball Park Souvenirs - $28. Taking your kid to his first-ever Major League Baseball Game – PRICELESS! And then the voiceover concludes, “There are some things that money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard!” I find it rather interesting that these commercials – whose primary purpose is obviously to try to entice us to spend money to buy things using MasterCard, actually end up admitting that there are some things in this world that are PRICELESS – that there are some things that money cannot buy!! And those things that cannot be bought with money are actually MUCH MORE VALUABLE than anything else! Today’s gospel is about one of those priceless things – about having eternal life in the kingdom of God. As Jesus says: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Our heavenly Father wants to give us a life with him in which we will experience his peace, love, and joy in any and all circumstances. We do not have to “do” anything to earn this kind of life with God, and we could not buy it for all of the money in the world. But God – because he loves us – offers this life – this kingdom – to us as a free and priceless gift! But then Jesus goes on to say something that sounds really difficult. After telling his disciples that it is God’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom, Jesus then says; “Sell your possessions, and give alms. 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.” If you are like me, this at first does not seem to be very good news. Why would Jesus tell his disciples to get rid of their earthly possessions? It almost sounds like Jesus is saying that we have to give away our “stuff” in order to earn our way into heaven. But that is not at all what Jesus is telling us. Jesus is simply reminding us that the things we focus on become our hearts’ desire. Whatever we invest our “treasure” in will become most important to us. If you pay attention to the news, you probably know that the stock market has been having a really difficult time lately, especially during the past week. The DOW Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 750 points since its high point less than three weeks ago. But who is really concerned about this? Who cares? If you are a person who does not have any investments in the stock market, you might be somewhat interested about how the market is doing as news. But if you have your life’s savings invested in the stock market, you are probably much more concerned about its performance! Because where our treasures are, that’s what we are interested in. Or as Jesus puts it, that’s where our hearts are also. And our “treasure” is about more than just our money. “Treasure” is whatever we value in our lives. It can include our money to be sure, but it also includes our time and our possessions, and our families and our physical bodies. And how we use our treasures – what we invest them in – will determine what we come to love. “For where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also.” In today’s gospel, Jesus recognizes this. If we use our earthly treasures solely for ourselves, then that is what we will come to love – OURSELVES! That is what happened with the Rich Fool in last week’s gospel text when he used all of his possessions just for his own benefit. There was not any room for God in his life, because all of his thoughts and priorities were “self-focused” – and therefore he missed out on receiving the blessings of God’s kingdom. But when we see and use our earthly treasures as being instruments for doing God’s kingdom work – such as helping others, befriending others, loving and forgiving others, and working for the good of all – that is when God’s kingdom becomes the focus of our hearts. That is how we come to LOVE God’s kingdom so that we are ready to receive it. When we invest the “treasures” of our time, money, possessions, and whatever else we have in the work of God’s kingdom, that is when we begin to receive its blessings. That is when we begin to experience the priceless gifts of God’s peace, love, and joy in our lives. For how we use our treasures will determine where our hearts will end up. When we think of it in this way, we begin to realize that we give away some of our treasures to serve others, we never fail to gain something for ourselves. For as Jesus says, we “make purses for ourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. We receive priceless blessings that money cannot buy! May God grant that each day we will continue to grow in our willingness to give and to share – to invest the treasures of our lives – our money, time, possessions, and talents – in ways that really matter. As we give, so shall we receive – for where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also! So may it be – in Jesus’ name. Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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