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the treasure of the church

November 22, 2009

Posted in: Solidarity, justice

when i think about what the church of the last several decades has regarded as its treasure, the things of value that it has to share with those outside, two things come to mind.

first, in my opinion we have long misread the parables jesus shared about the treasure (what he referred to as the kingdom) that one should forsake all to search after.  we have somehow connected the priceless treasure to some no-cost, ethereal afterlife full of pretty, happy, perfect people.  attractive in some ways, but a treasure with no cost??  and what connection does that have to my family, my job, my neighbor, the suffering guy on the side of the road i try so hard to ignore everyday?

second, we have invested millions in “attractional” buildings complete with restaurants, workout facilities, and even well-paid staffs to tell us exactly what we should believe (knowing we will never figure that out on our own), to make sure we are practiced up on latest marketing models (b/c honestly we’ve trying to sell something that is of little interest to most people anyway), and to do all of the real work for us, so we don’t have to adjust or give up anything in our own lives (except for those not-so-pretty habits like smoking, drinking, or having homosexual friends…you know those things are not kosher with the perfect afterlife we’re trying to sell).

i’ve had tons of ideas for what kind of “treasure” is of true value to someone living this god-life pounded into my head or even dreamed up in my own, but never thought of this (SEE THE YOUTUBE VID BELOW) as the true treasure of the church.

as i joined in with rethread today, this video and idea was very fresh on my mind.  there were several times during the afternoon, where i kind of pulled back from the sometimes craziness of the store to observe what was really going on.  i thought of the recent (and not so recent) financial struggles within our community.  why would god not “bless” a community who trying to honestly pursue life with him?

when jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” i’ve always thought about the idea of not focusing on material things so much.  but at rethread today, i could not get my mind off of the real treasure of our community…our often desperate and hurting neighbors and friends in and around the plaza.  i believe our convergence community is finding our treasure in them, and our hearts are following.  i am so grateful to be so rich with our usually-neglected neighbors…the real treasure of our church!