Gospel Reading for June 21, 2024 – Matthew 6: 19-23
ELIGIBLE
Jesus said to his disciples: “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.
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
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.”
————
Usually, things that are stored, are stored temporarily until such time they are sold, delivered, or disposed of. They are not stored forever, otherwise, they may become spoiled, rotten, or no longer useful. When we store treasures, we tend to keep them and tend to be attached to them, such that losing them to thieves, by accident, or because we need to sell them will be a painful experience for us. This will always be the case with earthly treasures, and because they are earthly, they remain on earth even after we have gone from this earth.
Such is the wisdom of Jesus’ teaching: to store up for ourselves heavenly treasures that no one can steal. We need not dispose or sell them. We can store them in our hearts. Doing GOOD DEEDS at home and anywhere we can be, most especially to those in need, to those who are not good to us, and so on and so forth, are our heavenly treasures which TRANSFORM us, enhance the image of God in us, fill our whole body with light, and make us ELIGIBLE to enter heaven after our life on earth.
Lord, when our time comes, we pray that you bring us to paradise!
