My Treasures

My Treasures
Pentecost 9; Luke 12:32-40
Jesus says:
“Where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.”
Where now are my treasures
that draw my heart like magnets?

I treasure the scribbling
of words on a page,
trying to touch a truth,
then sharing those words with others.
I find treasure in stories,
read, heard and told,
stories lived and imagined,
shaped and revisited
by words old and new.
Such words are treasures,
though some say enlightenment comes
from wordless contemplation.

There is treasure here for me also
in this small retirement house,
built with the last of our savings,
shaped by our son’s design.
It’s a treasured shelter
for us in our ageing,
and for our unpartnered son
who, like so many others,
can’t yet afford a place of his own.
We muddle along willingly together
through the challenges of life and relationships.
Yet Jesus says:
“Sell your possessions and give alms.”
Are shared possessions a form of alms?

There is treasure in the garden,
native bushes I have planted
and long to see mature and flower
to feed the birds and bees.
Between them, yellow soursob flowers
gather the scanty winter sun
and lift my drooping spirits with brightness,
though no doubt they are weeds,
and our garden unkempt.

There is treasure in a little cat
who comes to rest on my chest
as I lie on the couch reading stories.
She rubs her nose on mine.
We comfort each other – 
as I stroke her cotton wool fur,
she purs her appreciation
and reaches a gentle paw
to touch my hand.
If she is my possession,
then I am hers as well.
Her precarious health relies on medication
and both of us are old.
No doubt in time we will fail,
though no thief comes near 
and no moth destroys.
Though I fear her loss,
and hope I last to care for her,
I do not begrudge
investing my heart in hers.

Jesus says:
“Do not be afraid, little flock,
for it is your Father’s pleasure
to give you the kingdom.”
Did he not also say
that the kingdom has come near?

Sacrifice of thanksgiving I bring,
though I cannot deny my heart
is drawn to these treasures,
these gifts and possessions.
If my response is love and gratitude,
is that also treasure in heaven?
	Barbara Messner 7/08/2025

There’s another cat in our household, but that is more of a master/servant relationship – guess who is the master? I provide food and water, clean up her eccentric toileting, and provide entertainment by turning on the bath, preferably daily, for her to watch the water run in and later reach down and sip. I am reminded several times when she considers it food or bath time. Her main display of affection is when I am anchored in place on the toilet!