This is a prayer from a preacher at Christ Church, Anacortes, “God help me to say what you would want me to say and if I should say something stupid, I pray that those who hear it will promptly forget it. Amen.” And, amen. My scripture quotes this week are from The Message and the thoughts are entirely my own so if I say anything stupid, please promptly forget it. “The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” That’s from Luke. So, I asked myself, “Where is my treasure? Where do I most want to be?”
I have a checkbook and a very small savings account. I have an unremarkable vehicle that serves me well, a home I enjoy, and furniture. I don’t think any of these are my treasures. I have some keepsakes that are important to me-they remind me of things I did as a kid, of my ancestors, and of things I like to do now. If there was a fire, I would grab pictures first once I knew the people in the house were safe. (I have a few pictures that don’t have copies.)
So, those are my physical treasures. Family is one of my greatest treasures and they are physical, also. But, there is a spiritual aspect to family. I have been spiritually and emotionally nurtured by family as have all of us at some level. I recognize “the other” in my family members but I also recognize part of myself. Because of this, I want to spend time with my family-I want to be with them. In all honesty, it is my family and my love for them that makes me wish to stay alive for as long as possible. I don’t want to miss anything.
Yet, I am also like the people described in Hebrews: “They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home.” In all of today’s readings there is this promise of a place to live with God and my hope lies there. God is the treasure we can’t contain or quantify. God is the treasure that connects us all. And, “with God” is the place I most want to be.
So, in what way and when can we be with God? Both the Isaiah and Luke readings tell us we can be with God if we are generous with the poor and underprivileged in our midst. Isaiah says, “Say no to wrong, learn to do good. Work for justice, Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.” You all knew I couldn’t pass up these social justice lines didn’t you? Isaiah and Jesus were observing the same kinds of corrupt systems in their lifetimes. As we do in ours. Both were called to speak for God// to set things right. The people who needed the most help were being ignored because there was a social cost to providing aid. The largest cost was to those who benefited from the plight of the poor. The landlord who charged exorbitant rents, who appealed to the courts to imprison or indenture those who could not pay, and who felt no remorse for the lives destroyed because he was acting within his legal rights. After all, a person has a right to make a living. No matter that the properties were substandard and needed repair.
This was the type of injustice Isaiah and Jesus were railing against. We could list many such in our own society today.
I believe we can be with God now by standing with those in need and by being aware of how we live and the impact our living has on others. “The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”
I am an extrovert, and while I enjoy regular and frequent time alone, I enjoy being with people. The other members of my Clinical Pastoral Education group (all introverts) laughed when I said I was happy to make some more friends. They said, “Of course you feel that way.” They also couldn’t believe I was not concerned about walking into a hospital room to provide pastoral care to a total stranger. They made me worry a little about whether I was taking things too lightly or something.
The thing is: I am comfortable walking into a hospital room to speak with a stranger. I’ve been doing it for decades! I found I was quite able to walk in and strike up a conversation with a patient and go with whatever request was made. I also found on our “unchurched Harbor” in our “unchurched state” that many were open to prayer and to speak of spiritual needs. Often the first words were, “I could use some prayer. I really need that.”
I sat with a disabled woman who was anxious and, with the luxury of time, I listened. I could just be with her. There was nothing I could solve for her but, I prayed with her and told her I wouldn’t forget her.
I visited extensively with a family going through the death of a relative. I listened to their stories about their family. They were where their treasure was-together. I pointed out they had a family theme in their stories: “Getting out of the family car to exert their independence yet, always getting back in to be with the family.” They were there together because of the love they shared for one another. If they could control it, no one in their family would die alone. I feel privileged that I could be with them in God’s presence-a new person to hear their stories so they could sort out what they had forever and what they were losing in the present.
Where I most want to be is doing God’s work. That is easy to say and easy to wish but, it is hard to do. Even on the rare occasion when I am sure what God wants me to do, I don’t always follow through. Or, like in the case of the priesthood, the process seemed to take forever with all kinds of shifts in requirements and timelines. But, often when I see or feel a need, I am able to go along and be that presence that points to Christ-so many times it isn’t planned. It is the place I most want to be and it is the place where I end up being.
“The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” One of those places for me is La Conner, WA. For many years we camped in the area in a beautiful spot on the Swinomish Reservation on Fidalgo Island. There is a lodge at the campground with a fantastic view over Puget Sound looking out to Hope Island and what I call the back side of Deception Pass. It is one of my favorite places to be. The sunsets are spectacular every day. I look down to the beach and remember all the people with whom I have walked on it. Jim and our kids when they were small, friends from Grace Church in Duvall, friends from Christ Church in Seattle, my parents and my nephews, my grandsons and Jim’s mom. And, I have walked with Christ there and watched the Swinomish people fishing, crabbing and smiling their greetings to the guests on their ancestral lands. It is a beautiful place that smells of the sea. I hope to end up being there again.
One thing I love about these rocky beaches we have here in Washington State are the rocks worn smooth by the tides. It is my hope that someday, I can be worn smooth like these rocks that my rough edges that cut and poke people are broken away so I can tumble in the tides with my neighbors without harming them. That is a place I most want to be and I hope to end up being there.