‘Humpty, do you remember Snakes and Ladders?’
It was Covid-19 that made me ask the question.
Humpty nodded. ‘Yes, and Tiddly-wink and Ludo.’
‘No need to make a meal of it, Humpty.’
‘I thought I’d just let you know, he said. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Whoever invented it knew a good deal about the great game of life.’
‘And not so much about falling off walls,’ added Humpty. ’So what are you saying?’
I collected my thoughts. Humpty harrumphed. He was finding me a bit of a bore.
‘We change schools. Schools close. Teachers leave. Exams don’t take place. When we are 20 or 30, we discover that companies close or get taken over. The kind of job that you did for 40 years and then collected a pension is no more. Printing, farming, mining and building work get transformed. New industries rise Wars may rage. Plague may stalk the land. The best laid schemes of mice and men gang oft agley. Its “Snakes and Ladders” all the way.
I think Humpty was listening. In any case, I told myself, it was just like that in the first centuries of Christian history. The collapse of the Roman empire opened the door to gangsterism and war-lords. The whole edifice of familiar if oppressive civilised life seemed shattered. No wonder Augustine was impelled to write ‘The City of God’, finding God’s eternal purposes continuing in a world where nothing was certain.
Before all that happened, St Paul (like a good many other Christian leaders later) found himself in prison. It was a time when the Roman form of peace prevailed. He wrote: ‘My friends, I want you to understand that the progress of the gospel has actually been helped by what has happened to me.’ He had turned time in jail into an opportunity to sound off the Christian message. We have to make the most of our snakes and ladders.
‘Hey, Humpty, are you awake?
No reply.
ZOO TIME
Visiting Chester Zoo? Drop in at St Mary’s, Upton. There are Sunday services at the parish church and the centre. Website pictures suggest you’ll find a flourishing congregation. At Christ Church, Upton you will find a church inviting students and others to join its intern scheme – three days earning a living, three days serving the Gospel.
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