Treasure Within - Matthew 20:20-28

The first reading tells us that we hold our treasure in earthen vessels. Importantly it follows that up by saying, "that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us." This tells us that we are just flawed containers- God's love is the treasure inside us. I saw one commentary that summarized this reading this way, saying "we're the pots and God is the Power".  He makes us, the ordinary vessels... extraordinary.
 
This applies to the saints too. While we imagine them as we see them as statues and holy cards, looking perfect, noble and sometimes heroic, they were also real people, who built their virtue in the struggle to overcome both external obstacles and their own sinfulness and character deficiencies.
 
St James, who we celebrate today, was a great example of this.  On one hand, he was one of Our Lord’s three closest apostles. He witnessed the Lord’s greatest miracles. He was prominent in the church in Jerusalem, and the first Apostle to die for Christ.
 
On the other hand, he was very human with a nasty temper. He and his brother John, whom Jesus called the “sons of thunder”, wanted to call down fire to destroy the towns of Samaria that rejected the Lord.  St James was ambitious and impulsive, seemingly a little childlike. And as we hear in the Gospel reading today, he and John try to use their mother’s intercession to get the highest places of authority in Christ’s earthly kingdom. He certainly was far less than perfect.
 
But Jesus helped James to channel his enthusiasm into zeal to be a servant of the Gospel, and a willingness to accept suffering out of love for God.  In fact, he died a martyr (which is why we're wearing red).
 
We, like James, are all earthen vessels – imperfect, shaped too much by the world around us, easily cracked, not very beautiful – but nonetheless holding a heavenly treasure within us.  I saw another commentary that gave this visual. It said: "Although we are chipped and cracked, we are like the chalice that holds the Precious Blood of Jesus during communion at Mass, pouring Christ out to others."
 
The treasure is God himself, and as such, it makes us holy even when we sin. Unless we deliberately reject God, we remain essentially holy because we were made in his image and baptized into his likeness.
We don’t always act holy, but we do always have God’s Holy Spirit within us- a fact that we need to embrace more fully today, both within ourselves, and outside ourselves.  Inside ourselves- Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is manifested inside us.  We need to affirm that goodness, and not beat ourselves up as much as we do. We are children of a most high God.
 
Outside ourselves too- We're all to prone to cynicism when it comes to other's behaviors.  We lose sight of the fact that God's treasure resides in everyone. Our Catholic faith teaches us that all humans are gifted with a conscience which is inscribed our hearts.  We may fall prey to ignorance or erroneous judgments, but no one chooses evil for evil's sake, as confounding as that seems- even the most wayward souls- those who spread computer viruses or perpetrate the most heinous of crimes.  All are built with God's treasure inside.
 
The Lord gives us room to learn from our mistakes through self reflection and repentance of sins.  He gives us many opportunities to figure out what we did wrong –Not to condemn us, but so that we can learn from the experience.  Repentance requires change on our part.
 
Notice that Jesus did not condemn James and John for wanting places of glory. Nor did he criticize their mother for wanting her boys to have the best. He recognized their potential and understood their inability to see the full picture of what it means to be tops in God's kingdom.
 
As earthen vessels, embraced by God’s loving hands, our cracks are healed through the Sacraments of Penance, the Eucharist, and the Anointing of the Sick.  Eventually, we will become golden chalices, perfected by the refining fires of this ever-so-flawed world where the devil and temptation put us to the test.
 
When we get mad at ourselves, or others, for failing to be holy and perfect, we need remember Saint James, who put his trust in Christ and willingly embraced his daily suffering as a way to allow God's power to surpass his... in his earthen vessel.  
 
So, let us prayerfully examine our own earthen vessels (our pots) today. We pray that we can hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, to help us perfect our pots by using God's power inside us, to evolve them to truly be golden chalices, pouring out Christ's love to all we meet.