Throughout Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is often referred to as Rabbi or Rabboni meaning teacher. Jesus is not an ordinary teacher He is more like a mobile classroom without walls teaching on the hill sides, from a boat, or the inside of the Temple.

Like many teachers he does like to use stories or parables of which today's gospel presents three. The first two deal with the accumulation of treasure.

Earlier in his gospel Jesus said: Where you treasure is there your heart is also. Where are your treasures? In a safe hidden in your home, a safety deposit box at the bank? What are the things you value most? Are they things that can be locked away?

Suppose a local television reporter approached asking: On what do you spend most of your time and money? What is the most important passion in your life? I'm sure you wouldn't want to answer those questions on television but each of us will have to answer them for Jesus some day. That is the point of the third parable which Protestants often refer to as the Divine Rapture.

The point of the Parables is that the Kingdom of heaven is not something we will find in the hereafter unless we search for it here in life. Search for it with a keen eye, like the eye of Solomon in today's first reading:

That treasure is modeled in wisdom in his prayer: 0 Lord you have given me life itself; what can I ask for except the wisdom and grace to be an influence for good in the lives of all I meet.

It is not reflected in the treasure that was modeled in the heart of the legendary King Midas. He was granted a favor that everything he touched would turn to gold: the food on his plate, his wife, his daughter. Midas quickly began begging to be delivered from this curse. (Remember what I said last week about being too quick to judge the obvious.)

For us who are not usually granted such favors: we must work for things that we value. Most of us will not find buried treasures or pearls or even win lotteries. We work for what we have. In a word we sacrifice.

At Mass we are reminded of Christ's sacrifice. Near the altar there is always a crucifix to remind us of the Sacrifice of Calvary. The Eucharistic Prayer forms the very core sacrifice, but it is also a thanksgiving.

It always begins with the opening dialogue: Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right that we give Him thanks and praise.

Next follows the invocation of the Holy Spirit to make the gifts holy and then repeating the words of Christ at the last supper the sacrifice is made present; bread and wine become the sacred body and blood of Christ.

Christ who is God, alone can transcend time and place. As we gather around the altar we are joined with all humanity in Christ's eternal sacrifice.

A Eucharistic Prayer from one of the Eastern Churches reads: Remember those whom we know, and those whom we don't know. Gather together all our faithful fathers and bishops everywhere, give peace to the souls of the dead and those we remember this day. Give us a share in the reward of the Holy Prophets, apostles, and martyrs.

In our own Eucharistic prayer we use similar words, and we conclude the Great Prayer by reminding us that it is Jesus' prayer we offer to the Father, through Christ, in Him, with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. And we make His prayer our prayer when we all say together: Amen.