Monkey

“And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 19:23).

Temptations (Unknown)

There is a trap that was used in Africa to trap monkeys.

This sort of trap is very interesting.  The monkey is not harmed but the monkey is tricked, and in this trickery the monkey becomes trapped.

The trick is really quite simple because it relies on the monkey’s greed.  You see, the trappers place an apple inside a box and cut a hole in the box that will fit the monkey’s hand.  So the monkey sees the apple inside the box and puts its hand inside the box to grab the apple.  However, while holding the apple the monkey is no longer able to remove their hand out of the small hole that was cut into the box.  While the monkey continues to hold the apple in its hand it cannot move and becomes trapped.  In this way, the monkey becomes trapped by its own greed.

I have been thinking about that monkey trap as I have been thinking about the reactions of the apostles to Christ’s plan for them…

“And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ Then Peter said in reply, ‘Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first.’” (Matthew 19:23-30).

My mother in law (may God rest her soul) loved to shop.  It was just her favourite thing to do in the whole world.  She did not spend very much money, but she loved to bargain hunt and would take great pleasure in bringing home new clothes that she found on special.  When my mother in law (may God rest her soul) was diagnosed with cancer and told that she would only have a few more months to live, she stopped shopping.  She would say, I do not need any more clothes.  I have enough to last me for the rest of my life.  And she meant it literally.

And this reminds me of that monkey.  My mother in law (may God rest her soul) knew how to let go of the apple so that she would not be trapped by the box.  And in this way she became free of the things of this Earth and instead looked to her future life, with great faith…

And it occurs to me today that if I am not careful, I may not have a chance to drop the apple and free myself of the box in the time I have left on this Earth.  And that worries me.  That worries me a lot!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.