I was born with my hands as empty as Eve’s, and when it is time for my body to be interred in the dust from which it has come, then too will my empty hands turn to dust...
The other day, I read a brief – somewhat horrific – description about the methods that were used to trap a monkey, historically and in Africa.
The trap was constructed with a hole in the top that is just large enough for a monkey’s hand to fit through. Inside the trap, the hunters would leave a fresh, juicy orange. And it was this orange that served as bait. The monkey would approach the trap, reach into the trap, grasp the orange in its hand. And then – because its hand became larger because it was holding onto the orange, the monkey would become trapped with the wooden box and the hunters would be able to come and collect it.
The interesting thing about this sort of a method for trapping monkeys is that that monkey could quite easily escape the trap. All it had to do was let go of the orange. But monkeys are greedy creatures, rarely think to let go of the orange. And as a consequence, they become trapped – effectively by their own greed…
And I have been thinking of the story of the monkey as I think about my own greed…
Saint Augustine wrote in “Augustine Day by Day” at page 31, “There are two loves, the love of God and the love of the world. If the love of the world takes possession of you, there is no way for the love of God to enter into you. Let the love of the world take the second place, and let the love of God dwell in you. Let the better love take over.”
And that monkey’s love of the orange – which for me is a love of the world – was the thing that doomed him. And that causes me to reflect on my own life. You see, “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.’” (Matthew 19:23-30).
And as I think about that monkey and that orange today, I feel a little like the rich man as a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle. And it causes me to stop – right here in the shopping centre… After all, I have to ask myself, when will enough be enough? And what sort of baggage am I going to try to drag with me into the kingdom of Heaven? After all, I was born with my hands as empty as Eve’s, and when it is time for my body to be interred in the dust from which it has come, then too will my empty hands turn to dust...
And that makes me think… What is the point of all this stuff that I am grasping in my greedy little hands today? What is the point?
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
Σχόλια