Fun time last night. Christie and I and many of you went to
the Haiti Mission auction with the "Deal or No Deal" theme. I
don't see the Howie Mandel version of the show that often, but
often enough to envy whomever is the casting director for the
twenty-six gorgeous briefcase beauties.
"Deal or No Deal" does pretty well in the ratings, as I
understand, as do but most of these big-money giveaways. Almost
ten years ago, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" took the nation by
storm and made Regis Philbin a household name. For one-million
dollars, what insect got into the works of the world's first
computer causing it to short out and in the process started use
of the phrase "computer bug?" A) Moth, B) Roach, C) Fly, D)
Japanese Beetle. Dee-doo-dee-doo, dee-doo-dee-doo. A 25-year-old California man sits in the "hot seat" and agonizes over the
answer as millions of Americans look on, and those who know the
answer in their living rooms scream it to their TV sets. Dee-doo-dee-doo, dee-doo-dee-doo. The suspense mounts. "Gee, Regis,
I think I know this one. The answer is A) Moth."
"Is that your final answer?"
"Final answer."
Dramatic pause. "You're right! You've just won a million
dollars." The confetti comes down, and the crowd goes wild.
"Millionaire" is still on the air in syndication, and is
even the source of pop political humor - a few weeks ago on
Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey, with her inimitable impression of
Sarah Palin and her infamous Katie Couric interview, responded to
one of "Katie's" questions by saying she would like to use one of
her "lifelines," she wanted to "phone a friend." Dee-doo-dee-doo, dee-doo-dee-doo.
Of course, these shows are not exactly new. There have been
various iterations of them since the earliest days of
broadcasting. One of the more successful was the partial
inspiration for the title of this sermon - Treasure Hunt,
starring Jan Murray, back in the late '50's (some of us are old
enough to remember watching, and in glorious black-and-white, of
course). Two contestants played a quiz in which the challenger
picked one of five categories on which the host would quiz the
contestants. Each was asked five questions of the chosen
category for $10 apiece (ten whole dollars, WOW!!!). The player
who won the most money went on the treasure hunt and picked one
of thirty treasure chests, each filled either with a series of
prize packages or a large cash jackpot that started at $1,000 and
went up $100 every time it was not won (big bucks back in those
days). There were also some booby prizes like a head of cabbage
or a pound of onions. Before Jan Murray would open the chest,
the contestant would pick an envelope from a wheel-shaped board
containing sealed cash amounts from $100 up, then they were then
given the choice of either taking the money or the contents of
the treasure chest. Same principal as today's Deal or No Deal.
Why are these things such a success? Is it A) they are fun?
B) they are the best shows on TV? C) they are educational? or
D) people are mesmerized by money? We know the answer to this
one and we do not even need to use a lifeline.
Now, we find ourselves at that time of the church year in
which we are encouraged to look at our stewardship of the
resources God has placed at our disposal. We hear the theme of
this year´s campaign and once again encounter Jesus' words in the
Sermon on the Mount, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on
earth..." Uh, Jesus, is that your final answer? Hmm. For a
society that is as fascinated by get-rich-quick game shows as we
are, those are hard words to hear.
Listen to him again: "Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves
break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do
not break in and steal." What is Jesus saying here?
To understand him, it might be helpful to look at his
references to moth and rust and thieves. Concerning moths,
remember, they are not only "computer bugs," they eat things they
ought not. In Jesus' neighborhood, an individual's position in
society was very much reflected by the clothes that were worn.
Elaborate dress indicated that a person was of high rank, while
plain garb showed someone to be of lesser rank. You have heard
the old adage,"Clothes make the man?" Well, in first century
Judea, that was very much the case. Of course, if the moths got
to all that finery, you could forget it. Suddenly, the rank and
position in life reflected by clothing were out the window.
There is nothing permanent about the treasure of clothing.
What about "rust?" Rust "eats" away at metal just as moths
eat away at clothes. Jesus' reference could have just as easily
been to worms or rats or mice or other assorted little vermin
that eat away at the corn and grain stored in great barns, little
critters which would eventually pollute and destroy the entire
store. Obviously, there was nothing permanent about that kind of
treasure either.
Then there is the matter of the treasure that thieves would
go after. In a day in which life savings might be deposited
under the bed in an old sack, and houses were hardly constructed
with security in mind, those savings could prove to be a most
inviting target. One could hardly call something "forever their
own" which could be forever GONE between the time of leaving home
in the morning and returning at night. Again, there is nothing
permanent about that.
The message of Jesus is clear: do not put too much store by
things that you cannot say positively are yours anyway. If
clothes are a big deal to you, fine, but be aware that they are
not going to last. If accumulated possessions, the fruits of
your labors, are important, okay, but make sure that you know
that all sorts of things can happen to deprive you of them. If
having a lot of money means much to you, all right, but remember,
there is nothing to guarantee that you will keep it, and that has
never been more clear than in recent weeks as we have seen
trillions of dollars in stock market wealth literally evaporate
into thin air. As a matter of fact, about the only guarantee you
can get with ANY of those things is that there will come a day
when they will NOT be yours. As the old Spanish proverb has it,
"There are no pockets in a shroud."
A rich man in town died one day, and two men were talking
about it. "How much did he leave?" asked the one.
The reply came back, "All of it."
Good common sense wisdom: "Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth..." But Jesus did not stop there. He
continued, "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in
and steal." What is he saying? You can't take it with you, but
you can send it on ahead? How are we to understand him?
Obviously, even though he has just been talking about
material things, he is NOT talking about them now. The people
who listened to him there on that hillside knew that. Their
rabbis taught that HEAVENLY treasure came from two sources: deeds
of kindness and a good character.
Of course, the early church operated on that principle. One
of the most important tasks those first Christians felt they had
was in the care of those who could not care for themselves.
Story has it that, during the days of terrible persecution, the
Roman authorities broke into a church on a treasure hunt of their
own; they demanded of the deacon in charge that he hand over
everything of value. The deacon simply pointed to the widows and
orphans being fed, the sick being nursed back to health and the
poor whose needs were being supplied and said, "There, Sir.
There are the treasures of the church." (1)
The other aspect of heavenly treasure concerned good
character. One rabbi was asked if he would spend time in a
heathen city if he were paid handsomely for his services. But
the man replied that he would only do so if he could stay in a
home of the Law. His rationale was "In the hour of a man's
departure neither silver nor gold nor precious stones accompany
him, but only his knowledge of the Law and his good works." (2)
Good deeds...good character. Those are the stuff heavenly
treasure is made of. There is the old story of the rich and
famous man who died and went to heaven. As he was being guided
to his celestial home, he passed through one magnificent
neighborhood after another and thought to himself how fitting it
would be for a man of his position and reputation to live in one
of the many fine mansions he saw there. But the angel who was
leading him did not stop at any of the magnificent mansions he
saw; he stopped instead in front of a poorly constructed little
shack. "But wait," the man protested, "surely this cannot be MY
home."
The angel replied, "I am sorry, Sir, this is the best we
could do with the materials you sent up."
Heavenly treasure..."where moth and rust do NOT consume and
where thieves do not break through and steal."
Something else should be noted here: Jesus was not simply
some country philosopher; he had more reason to note the problems
of earthly possessions than simply their lack of permanence - he
knew that they could be a source of eternal difficulty. He knew
that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
The danger is idolatry.
The rich young ruler was a case in point. (3) That young man
had all this world could possibly offer, but even with all that,
he knew that something was lacking in his life. He came to Jesus
to find out what it was. Jesus told him the problem was his
possessions: "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow
me." But the young man could not do it. You see, he did not
possess the possessions; they possessed HIM. And whatever
possesses you is your God. If you are possessed by any other
than the God of heaven, you are possessed by an idol.
Be clear about this: neither in the story of the rich young
ruler nor in the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus saying anything
against possessing property. Some would read these words and
interpret them to mean that no one should have anything of their
own; Christians should be communists. No. Jesus' concern is
about priorities. Whom do you love? Whom do you trust? When
the priorities become skewed, the questions about love and trust
begin to be answered with things like money, or power, or
reputation. They become our "lifelines" and our "final
answer"...they become the idols. Jesus says do not let that
happen.
Then he goes on to talk about something that might be
confusing because it does not seem to follow on this thought
about earthly and heavenly treasure. He says, "The eye is the
lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body
will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole
body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is
darkness, how great is the darkness!" What do good and bad eyes
have to do with treasure?
Actually, we have a translation problem here. This is one
of those rare instances where a good modern translation, in its
effort to make a passage more understandable, tends to lead us
astray. In defense of the translators, the Greek words behind
this English can be very confusing without a bit of background.
We who grew up hearing this passage from the old King James
version remember it differently: "The light of the body is the
eye. If therefore thine eye be SINGLE, thy whole body shall be
full of light. But if thine eye be EVIL, thy whole body shall be
full of darkness." The "single" eye as compared to an "evil"
eye? What is going on here?
The King James translators were quite correct in their
literal rendering, but what needs to be understood is a certain
Hebrew idiom that lies even behind the Greek. When SINGLE eye
and EVIL eye are taken together, the contrast is not between ways
of seeing; it is between degrees of generosity. Someone with a
so-called "evil eye" was someone who was a cheapskate. We have
the same kind of thing in English when we compare someone who is
"open-handed" as opposed to someone who is "tight-fisted."
Nothing to do with this five-fingered instrument attached to the
wrist; we are talking about whether someone is generous or not.
Jesus simply used the idiom of the day to point out how someone's
generosity or lack of it could affect their entire life.
Money, money, money. It fascinates us. "Deal or No Deal?"
we are asked, and we ponder what gives us the best chance at the
most loot. Then we hear Jesus say, "No one can serve two
masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other,
or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and wealth."
You are familiar with the name Robert Fulghum, the author
who became famous following publication of his book, All I Really
Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Several years ago, in an
interview with the Christian humor magazine "The Door," Fulghum
reported that since his success, people were always saying,
"Well, you must have a big house and a big car." And he
responds, "No, I have the same house, same car, same friends,
same wife..." Fulghum says he is on guard against all kinds of
greed, and is committed to serving God, not money.
Of course, fame is a challenge, he admits, "and the
challenge is to be a good steward with this kind of authority and
power -- especially with the economics." So one year he did a
book tour, and used it to raise $670,000 for a number of good
causes. "I don't think I should be given extra credit for doing
that," he says. "I think you should think ill of me if I didn't
do that."
Death does not scare Robert Fulghum (who is now 80, by the
way). In fact, he has already picked out his grave, and he likes
to visit it. It reminds him to live life in a way that is rich
toward God, and when he sees it he says to himself, "Don't get
lost here. Know where you're going." (4) Good for you, Robert.
Jesus says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and
steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in
and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also." Remember that, as you review your Stewardship materials
at home in the coming days.
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
That, my friend, is the ultimate treasure hunt.
Amen!
1. William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, CD-ROM edition (Liguori, MO: Liguori
Faithware, 1996) used by permission of Westminster/John Knox Press
2. ibid.
3. See Mark 10:17-22
4. The Door, May/June 1995
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