“Where Your Treasure Is: Finding God’s Kingdom in Times of Change”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Yesterday, we reflected on Hilda of Whitby’s example of unifying leadership. Today, we have another incredible woman leader as our inspiration. Through Elizabeth of Hungary, we encounter a profound truth about where true unity is found – not in comfortable consensus, but in shared commitment to those Christ calls us to serve.
Elizabeth’s example is particularly relevant for us as church leaders because she transformed not just individual lives, but entire systems. When she turned her castle into a hospital, she didn’t just treat the sick – she created new structures for sustained ministry. This is the kind of systemic thinking our moment demands.
“Do not be afraid, little flock,” Jesus tells us, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” These words echo across the centuries to connect Elizabeth’s witness with our own moment. Like us, Elizabeth lived in times of political uncertainty. Like us, she faced choices about how to use her position and privilege. Like us, she had to decide where to place her treasure.
Our reading from Tobit offers this wisdom: “Prayer with fasting is good, but better than both is almsgiving with righteousness.” Elizabeth embodied this truth. When she built hospitals and cared for the sick, she wasn’t merely engaging in charitable works – she was demonstrating what it means to align our resources with God’s priorities. She showed us that almsgiving isn’t about feeling good about our generosity – it’s about recognizing Christ in every person we serve.
As members of our church’s governing bodies, we might think of ourselves as far removed from Elizabeth’s direct ministry to the poor. But every policy we craft, every canon we revise, every liturgy we shape either creates space for such ministry or places barriers in its way. Your work in these interim bodies has direct impact on our church’s capacity to serve.
When Jesus commands us to “sell your possessions and give alms,” he’s not suggesting a general principle of charitable giving. He’s calling us to radical realignment of our resources with God’s priorities. And yes, this includes building and maintaining healthy institutions – for just as Elizabeth needed her castle to create her hospital, we need strong church structures to sustain our mission. The question isn’t whether to have institutions, but how to ensure they serve rather than hinder God’s work.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This is the core challenge before us as we gather for our interim body work. Our decisions about structures, liturgies, and relationships aren’t just administrative – they’re declarations of what we truly value. Every policy we craft, every resource we allocate, every partnership we forge reveals where our treasure – and therefore our heart – truly lies.
Consider the questions before us:
- When we discuss governance, are we protecting institutional power or empowering mission?
- When we consider liturgical changes, are we preserving comfort or enabling encounter with the living God?
- When we engage in ecumenical dialogue, are we building bridges strong enough to carry the weight of real transformation?
These aren’t abstract questions. In our communities today, real people struggle with poverty, exclusion, and fear. We serve in a time when many in our church family feel their lives and freedoms hang in the balance. The gospel demands that we respond not with cautious deliberation but with bold action.
This isn’t about dismantling our beloved traditions. It’s about ensuring they serve their original purpose – drawing people closer to God and each other. When we talk about transformation, we’re talking about becoming more fully what God has always called us to be.
Elizabeth’s witness challenges us to see that true security isn’t found in careful preservation of resources but in their faithful deployment for God’s mission. She shows us that real treasure – the kind that “moths cannot destroy and thieves cannot steal” – is accumulated not by what we keep but by what we give away in service to others.
As leaders in Christ’s church, we are called to create “purses that do not wear out” – policies, structures, and relationships that channel our resources toward God’s priorities. This means:
- Governance systems that prioritize mission over maintenance
- Liturgies that welcome all into God’s presence
- Partnerships that multiply our capacity to serve
- Technology policies that bridge rather than deepen digital divides
The decisions we make in these meetings will either empower or hinder ministry in parishes and dioceses. They will either give our leaders tools for transformation or burden them with bureaucracy. That’s why our conversations about structure and governance are, at their heart, conversations about pastoral care and gospel witness.
May we find the courage to follow Elizabeth’s example – not just in personal charity, but in institutional transformation. May we discover that our greatest treasure lies not in what we preserve but in what we give away in service to others. And may we build a church where Christ is recognized and served in every face we encounter.
For where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. Let us place both, treasure and heart, squarely in God’s mission of justice, healing, wholeness, and love.
Amen.
