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The
100 th Monkey
January
23, 2005 Homily
Fr.
George Smiga
Matthew 4:12-23
Today's
homily is about the kingdom of God and Japanese monkeys. The
kingdom of God is of course the centerpiece of today's gospel.
It is also at the heart of our faith. Matthew tells us that
as Jesus begins his ministry he begins to proclaim, “Repent.
The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, has drawn near.”
Jesus proclaims that the kingdom is drawing close, and we
believe through his death and resurrection that the kingdom
has begun. But what is the kingdom? What do we mean when we
talk about the kingdom of God?
The
answer is found in a very familiar place, in a prayer that
most of us say daily, the Lord's Prayer. In it we pray, “Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
“ The kingdom of God is when the will of God is established
on earth. When the world becomes the way God wants it to be.
That day will be good news for us. When God's will is established,
when the kingdom is established, evil will be destroyed. When
the kingdom comes, there will be no more poverty or war, no
more hatred or injustice, no more corruption or violence.
Instead, when God's will becomes true on earth, there will
only be abundance and peace, love and kindness, harmony and
justice. This then is the kingdom that Jesus proclaims and
we believe is coming. Moreover, we believe that we are to
participate in that kingdom, that we have a role in establishing
God's will on earth. So as Christians we believe that the
kingdom is coming; as disciples we believe that we are called
to build it.
So
how are we doing? For all the good actions and works done
by Christians and others throughout the world, are we closer
to the kingdom today than we were in the time of Jesus? Are
we closer to the kingdom today than we were last century or
last year? When we ask this question it seems that the results
are mixed. We can point to many points of progress, many places
where justice is growing, where peace is being established.
Yet at the same time we can point to many signs that the kingdom
is not yet here: war and violence, injustice, and corruption
– they are still a part of our world. With so many factors
in our world that are contrary to God's will, how do we maintain
our belief that the kingdom is still coming? How do we continue
to take seriously our role in being builders of the kingdom?
Here
is where the Japanese monkeys come in. From 1952 until 1958
a group of scientists were conducting an experiment with the
species of Japanese monkey, called Macaca Fuscata. The place
for this experiment was the island of Koshima in Japan. On
this island there were thousands of monkeys. The scientists
chose to introduce into the environment something that was
unusual so that they could see how the monkeys would react.
They cut up pieces of sweet potato and threw them on the beach.
The monkeys loved the sweet potatoes but they were frustrated
by the fact that the sand from the beach adhered to the sweet
potatoes. So they kept trying to figure out what to do about
this.
An
eighteen-month-old monkey who the scientists named Imo was
the first to come to a solution. She figured out that if you
took the sweet potato and brought it to a stream, you could
wash off the sand. She was delighted at this discovery and
shared it with her mother who began to share it with some
of the other adults in their particular tribe. The scientists
watched how the monkeys gradually showed one another how to
add this improvement to their life style. However, the progress
was slow. Even though there were thousands of monkeys on the
island, over a period of six years only 99 learned to wash
their sweet potatoes. Then one morning in October of 1958
the 100th monkey learned how to wash her sweet potato. For
reasons that the scientists still cannot explain, all the
monkeys on the island started washing their sweet potatoes
by the evening of that same day. The scientists call this
the Hundredth Monkey Phenomena. Their theory is that if something
new is learned there comes a critical point where, when one
more person learns it, there is a breakthrough and suddenly
the new knowledge spreads to the rest of the population.
Now
I am quite sure that the early Jewish rabbis did not know
of the Hundredth Monkey Phenomena, but they had a similar
approach to the kingdom. When questioned why God was taking
so long to establish the kingdom, the rabbis concluded that
God was waiting for a certain response from humanity before
sending the Messiah. Moreover, the rabbis believed that God
had a particular number of good works in mind. Therefore the
rabbis warned their followers never to underestimate the value
of one good work, never pass by an opportunity for one mitzvah.
The rabbis advised their disciples never to believe that a
single good work will not make a difference. For one action
of loving kindness might be the action to reach the
number for which God was waiting—one mitzvah might allow the
Messiah to come.
You
and I continue to believe that it is God's intention to establish
the kingdom. We would be served well to adopt the attitude
that is reflected in both the Hundredth Monkey Phenomena and
the teaching of the early Jewish rabbis. Never undervalue
the importance of a single good work, a single act of loving
kindness. Every one of your actions offered in faith is valuable
and treasured. Never say to yourself that even a small work
could be discounted. Shoveling the driveway for your neighbor
next door; spending a few moments with a co-worker who is
undergoing family problems, being patient with your parents
or with your spouse might seem like small actions. But each
one builds the kingdom. Do not hold back from seizing the
opportunity to do them. For even a small action might be the
action that allows the Messiah to return. Even a simple action
of loving kindness on your part might be the action that tips
the scales and establishes the kingdom of God.
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