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."
Source: https://dailygospel.org/M/AM/
Analysis
Today's passage is a short and metaphorical passage. Why do I say metaphorical? As there are parts of this passage that if taken at face value, seems quite harsh, strict, or just odd. This passage serves as proof that every part of the gospel should be put under scrutiny so that their true meanings are exposed. First, Jesus tells His disciples not to collect treasures on earth, where it can be destroyed and will be destroyed, but collect treasures in heaven, where it is eternal. Adding to it, He mentions that where your treasure is, that is where the heart is as well. Then He continues by saying that the eye is the lamp of the body, and thus if the eye is sound, our whole body will be filled by light. And vice versa, if it is unsound then the body will be in darkness. That is the entire passage.
If we are to take what Jesus says literally, it means we are not allowed to be rich, and must stay poor, however, is that truly what Jesus means? Of course not, Jesus is simply saying that in our lives, we must not only focus on what is scientifically proven, and I mean materialistic needs. Material needs, desires, and goals such as power, popularity, wealth, sex, and so on. All these will be gone and die out eventually. They are temporary and once we die, is meaningless. On the contrary, there are heavenly treasures, of course heaven is not a place at all, we've covered about that. Heaven is the condition of freedom and light that is the natural and logical consequence of good deeds by the conscious being. However, how does making good deeds equate storing up treasure in heaven?
When one commits good deeds, it is almost certain that they are doing it of their own freedom and their rational mind. Essentially, they are doing things because it is right and not for anything else. Meanwhile, the people who only go for material treasures are chained to these material desires, and in the end they do it for "happiness". This is the key difference between storing up treasures on earth and in heaven. One focuses on "happiness" that is temporary and will fade in the end. The other focuses on doing what is right, regardless happiness or not. And when we do what is right, our consciousness becomes more free of the material desires, and we are much more likely to enter the condition of freedom and light in death. That is the meaning of the two treasures.
The last part of this passage is quite enigmatic, as while it would make sense if Jesus means this literally, the context doesn't make sense. So let's analyze it from again, a metaphorical sense. Jesus said that the lamp of the body is the eye, as we know the eye is our primary way of obtaining information about the world. However, Jesus is referring not to the physical eye, but more of towards the heart, that is the heart in general. If the heart is good, that is pure and loving, we would be filled with light, as our perception of the world would be positive, and our mind is also clear from any prejudice, as such we can see everything as it is. On the other hand, if the heart is broken and evil, then we would only see what we wish to see, and see only darkness, which is why darkness fills our body.
That is all interesting, but is there anyway to connect the two parts? While we can, it is not an actual direct connection. The connection is that if our heart is pure and kind, our eyes would be clear and we can see what is right, that is we can store up treasures in heaven. However, if our heart is broken and evil, we would not see clearly, and we will be chained further to the treasures of the earth. That is the connection within this passage. I believe that is all I have to say, have a nice day and see you tomorrow.
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