Matthew 6:19-23 Reflection: The Treasure and The Eye

A reading from the gospel according to Matthew 6:19-23

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break
in and steal.
20 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and
steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how
great will the darkness be.”

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ospel Reading with Reflection (Background photo from pixabay.com)

Matthew 6:19-23 Reflection

There are two important words from the gospel to think about. Jesus spoke about treasure and the eye.

There are two kinds of treasures: 1) earthly treasure that is consumable and that can be taken away or
eaten by insects; 2) heavenly treasure that can last, not just for a lifetime, but for all eternity. So the
question is: What kind of treasure do you have?
Jesus says: Where your treasure is, there is where your heart is. So, what is the content of your heart? Is
it earthly or heavenly? Is it more on material things or is it more on love, faith, and hope – the things
that last? Now is time to refocus your investment.

And then, there is the eye. How is your eyesight now? Is it sound? Okay, we may have a 20/20 vision but
many times, we don’t really see the important things in life. In fact, we see only what is good for our
physical life. All the while, we don’t see or we refuse to see what is essential.

In the novel “The Little Prince”, the fox said: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is
essential is invisible to the naked eye.”

There. We now have the connection between our two words: treasure and the eye. If we use our heart
to reflect on the things we see, we will understand that the things of this world are not that very
important. What really matters are good relationships with our creator and with other beings. When we
use our eyes to see what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful, when we start to see the beauty in
us and in others or for that matter, the beauty of creation, then we can have wholeness that Jesus is
talking about. Then we can say that our sight is sound!

Store up treasures in heaven

Matthew 6: 19-23

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and
woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in
heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with
light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all darkness. If then, the light inside you is
darkness, what darkness that will be!’

Reflection on the painting on Panel

Jesus warns us today not to store up treasures for ourselves on earth. This of course is particularly
poignant for all the art collectors around, and I often get asked the question if collecting isn’t actually
bad for you, as it is collecting worldly goods? This doesn’t necessarily mean that people collect
expensive things, but within us we do have a drive to collect items. Think of a young boy collecting
football cards, Star Wars memorabilia, or girls collecting dresses for their dolls etc… So seen today’s
reading, would collecting be something bad then? Well, it all depends on the motivation behind it and
how it affects your day to day life. If collecting becomes more important than your relationships, or
becomes obsessive or you like to brag about what you have collected or if you spend money unwisely,
then collecting isn’t good for you. But if collecting takes on a ‘background’ part of your life, and is
something that simply gives you joy, and doesn't interfere with your relationships or God's will for your
life, then collecting can probably be a good thing. Of course it is more complex than that though.
Furthermore, collecting doesn’t necessarily need to cost any money, like collecting family photographs,
stones, seashells, etc… bringing the owner joy because of the memories they hold.

That said, Jesus warns us that any earthly things we collect of course can break, fade, get stolen, be
destroyed… Hence any treasure on earth is temporary and can’t last forever. He asks AND encourages us
instead to store up treasures in heaven where they won’t break, get stolen, or be destroyed. How can
we do this?…. by helping others, being kind, loving our neighbour, obeying God, spending time praying
etc…

Today we look at a painting that lavishly depicts a private collection of earthly goods. It looks so
incredible rich and opulent, showing off a small fraction of the Paston family's collected treasures. It was
executed by an unknown Dutch artist who resided at the Paston’s residence. I invite you to look at this
video, narrated by Stephen Fry, which reveals a bit more about the painting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRk4EGVXDSg

The mean reason for choosing this painting, apart from its relevant content to today’s Gospel reading, is
that it was painted by an anonymous hand. Too often artists nowadays get glorified and take centre
stage. The cult of the artist can almost supersede the actual works they make. Here we are looking at a
magnificently executed work, but the artist didn’t sign the work, nor did he want to be known… quite a
beautiful attitude, and in that sense very counter-cultural to our 21st century mentality.

The question ultimately in today’s reading is: where is our heart? If it is in earthy things, then there is an
issue. If it is in heaven, then we are more closely aligned to God, and therefore deep in His love.