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Did you hear about the treasure buried in the Spokane area?
\nAbout a month ago I was driving out in the valley
\nand I saw a big billboard that said
\nthere was a $10,000 treasure chest buried nearby.
\nThe billboard gave a web address,
\nand each day a clue was posted to help lead you to the treasure.
\nYou could even see a livestream of the big X on the ground
\nwhere the treasure was buried.
\nNow before you go out looking for it,
\nthe treasure has already been found.
\nIt was real.
\nThere really was $10,000 buried in ground just outside Rockford.
\nA father-and-son team found it after about five days of searching.<\/p>\n
I mention that because in today\u2019s gospel Jesus talks about treasure and money bags.<\/p>\n
Money has been part of the human condition for a long time,
\nin many different forms.
\nFirst people would barter\u2014trading livestock or sacks of grain\u2014
\nbut that was bulky, heavy, and hard to carry.
\nThen came metal coins,
\neasier to store but they could still weigh down a purse.
\nPaper money made our treasure even lighter,
\nand checkbooks meant you didn\u2019t have to carry cash at all.
\nPlastic cards made it even easier.
\nAnd now digital payments let us access our money from our phones,
\nprotected by passwords and fingerprints.
\nAnd what the heck is cryptocurrency?<\/p>\n
As money has evolved, so have the various ways we work
\nto make our \u201cmoney bags\u201d more and more secure.
\nIn the old days Pirates buried treasure in the ground on remote islands,
\nand apparently we still like searching for the X that marks the spot.
\nPeople hid money under mattresses.
\nNations built vaults like Fort Knox.
\nNow that our wealth is mostly digital,
\nwe have things like two-factor authentication.
\nWhether it\u2019s the kinds of money we have,
\nor the ways we\u2019re trying to secure it,
\nwe\u2019re constantly thinking about our treasure.<\/p>\n
My friend Larry was a guy who thought a lot about treasure, too.
\nLarry was a colleague of mine,
\nand he was in charge of all the assets at his organization,
\nall of its treasure, you might say.
\nIt was one of his primary responsibilities.
\nBut one day there was a hostile takeover at the top,
\nand the new boss was ruthless.
\nHe got rid of all the higher-ups.<\/p>\n
Then he demanded that Larry hand over everything to him. Which brings us to the questions Jesus invites us to consider today: Jesus tells us, \u201cThe Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.\u201d God\u2019s treasure is given constantly. And God\u2019s treasure doesn\u2019t only arrive in bright, happy packages. One practical way to do this is to make a regular practice
\nAll the assets.
\nEvery piece of property.
\nEvery last coin.
\nHe wanted all the treasure, you could say.
\nThat treasure was his sole focus.
\nBut as we hear in today’s Gospel,
\n\u201c\u2026where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.\u201d<\/em>
\nHis heart was on all of that treasure.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat do I treasure most?\u201d
\n\u201cWhere is my heart right now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAn \u201cinexhaustible treasure.\u201d
\nHe says, \u201cGet a bag ready, a bag that will not wear out.\u201d
\nWhy a bag that will not wear out?
\nBecause God keeps giving and giving and giving,
\nand you don\u2019t want to miss any of it.<\/p>\n
\nEvery new day is a treasure.
\nThe oxygen we breathe.
\nThe warmth of sunshine, the food on our tables,
\nthe love and support of friends and family,
\nthe work we\u2019re able to do,
\nthe roads we travel on, (even during construction season!),
\nand countless other blessings we barely notice–
\nall of these are part of God\u2019s treasure for us.<\/p>\n
\nSome of the deepest treasures come wrapped in challenges,
\nin moments that stretch us,
\nin times when we can\u2019t see the whole picture yet.
\nGod is present in both the sunlight and in the rain,
\nin the gentle breeze and in the stagnant or smoke-filled air.
\nThe treasure is there for us,
\nwe just need to open our \u201cmoney bag\u201d to receive it,
\nto gather it in.<\/p>\n
\nof reviewing each day in prayer,
\nnoticing what treasures God has given you lately,
\nhow he has \u201cfilled your bag.\u201d
\nYou\u2019re probably familiar with one of the most popular of those practices,
\nwhat St. Ignatius of Loyola called the Examen.
\nIf you\u2019re not familiar with the Examen, not to worry.<\/p>\n