Day: 5th April 2026

In James Cameron’s film Titanic, treasure hunters seek out 102-year-old Rose Calvert, who is believed to be the last person to have seen a fabulous diamond called the ‘Heart of the Ocean’, a jewel supposedly worth even more than the famed ‘Hope’ diamond. The ‘Heart of the Ocean’ was cut from the ‘Blue’ diamond once worn by Louis XVI in the eighteenth century. Rose is flown out to the expedition site in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where the team of treasure hunters is busy at work sending divers down into the wreckage to seek out the ‘Heart of the Ocean’. It is hoped by all that Rose can somehow lead the treasure-hunting team to the final resting place of the diamond deep within the Titanic’s resting place. 

As the film unfolds Rose tells her story to her rapt audience of treasure hunters: at the age of 17, Rose set sail on the Titanic’s maiden voyage with her family and her intended groom, a wealthy young man named Caledon Hockley. During the voyage, Caledon presented Rose with a stunning diamond necklace, the fabled ‘Heart of the Ocean.’ But Rose soon realised that Caledon viewed her as nothing more than a possession, and the film is about Rose’s realisation that she could have something more genuine and precious in a relationship. 

Rose then meets Jack Dawson, an impoverished young man who will never be able to give Rose a precious gem, but who can give her much more: real love. Tragically, Jack did not survive. He was among the passengers who would drown when the ship struck an iceberg and sank. As Rose concludes her story, the treasure hunters are still left with their original question: what became of the ‘Heart of the Ocean?’ Surprisingly, at the end of the film Rose reveals that the diamond is still in her possession. Then she does something even more startling: she reveals that she came to return the diamond to the ocean as a gesture of her undying love for Jack, the real treasure of her life. The leader of the recovery expedition objects strongly, but Rose says to him as she casts the diamond into the sea, ‘You look for treasures in the wrong place’. 

On the Sunday morning after Jesus had died, we read, ‘Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb…’  (John 20:1). Mary with other women went searching for their buried treasure: the body of Jesus, but they were looking in the wrong place. The angels at the tomb said, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead?’ (Luke 24:5). It was no good looking in the tomb for Jesus because the angels told the women ‘He is not here; he has risen!’ (v.6). 

This Easter, don’t go looking for treasure in the wrong place. As Jesus said, ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.’ (Matthew 6:19). Our treasure is in the risen Lord. ‘He is not here; he has risen!’ is a wonderful declaration that reminds us of where life’s real treasure lies. Life’s real treasure is not buried treasure that’s found by digging around in what this world has to offer. Life’s real treasure is resurrected treasure – Jesus himself.

The wonderful thing about this resurrected treasure is that we don’t need a map to find it. All Mary had to do was simply open her eyes and see Jesus standing there, and just open her ears and hear him calling out her name. (John 20:14-16).

This Easter let’s open our eyes and ears and discover the real treasure.

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church