A reflection on Matthew 6:19-21
Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang
Gospel
Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
Earthly treasures rust and decay.
A heav’nly heart sows agape.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《天上的財寶》
地上的財寶會銹壞。
一顆天上仁心播種愛。
Dear GMC, thank you for always calling us to our best whether on high ground or the high seas. And, like Snail’s example, we take our smallness and respond with our all. Thank you for creating a world of reflections where I can lose myself in prayer and reverence.
What a treasure is agape!
Coming to the Lord’s table,
Praying in communal way.
They will know who we are,
By loving acts as we are able.
May we become what we eat at the sacred banquet of the Most Holy Eucharist.
There’s a white leather jewelry box,
sitting for long time in my boudoir.
The box holds gems of all kinds:
Turquoise, diamond, and pearl;
Earrings and chains of silver or gold.
The box remains unlocked.
Now that I am quite old.
Jewels are mostly ignored,
Untouched adornments,
Sitting pretty on velvet lining.
A fine donation this box will be,
When I bid my final “Au revoir.”
As for heavenly treasures,
Graces bestowed from God,
These are valued virtues:
Faith, hope and charity,
Not under lock and key,
Accessed freely and daily.
Treasures God gives for now,
Yet lasting in the hereafter.
Faith, hope and love,
The greatest of these is love.
Thank you for sharing your journey of growth into divine wisdom and detachment from earthly treasures. May the Lord fill you with his heavenly treasures of faith, hope, and charity!