When my children were young, one of the things I loved was preparing treasure hunts for them. I used to spend hours getting ready for these wonderful, rowdy events. Their Mother would take them with her to help with the grocery shopping while I remained home working to lay out a series of elaborate clues. The clues would be written in puzzling rhyme, leading from one place to the next on our five-acre property in the California Sierra Foothills. Clues were hidden in jars buried in the garden, in the neighbors’ mailbox, and high up in their favorite climbing tree. They were hidden under the tractor in the shed and tacked to a log in the wood pile. Each clue led them tantalizingly closer to the treasure.

Oh. Right. Treasure.

This is the focus of our scripture this evening, am I right? Well…