Humpty was reaching for the sugar. I frowned. Humpty looked askance.
I mounted my hobby-horse. I put on my pontificating expression. ‘They may look very much alike. We may be very fond of them. But they are spectres at the party. They are our worst enemies. We must send them packing. I am referring, of course, to salt and sugar.’
The look on Humpty’s face warned me that he was not about to take me seriously. But I pressed on. ‘People in Jesus’ time knew all about salt but little about sugar. They did, however, esteem honey. And it was a land of milk and honey that beckoned them as they left Egypt. So let’s put aside sugar for the moment and think about salt. Cheshire is largely made of salt and the sea is full of it. Salt confronts us at every turn. What is it about salt?
I beat Humpty to it and answered my own question. ‘In one word flavour.’ I was well into my stride. ‘Salt brings to life a boiled egg. Without salt much of our menu would be insipid, tasteless. And that brings us to something Paul said in Colossians 4.6. Our words should always be gracious, never insipid. Doubtless he had in mind that saying from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.13. We owe it to our fellow human beings to bring flavour into our lives and theirs.
‘Somebody who achieved this is the Gloucestershire poet F.W. Harvey. He wrote his celebrated poem “Ducks” in a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. It is best to let the poem speak for itself but he makes the point that God must have smiled when he made ducks; he knew when he heard the sound coming of their bills that ducks would prevent mankind from becoming “dull, humourless and glum.”
‘We can’t all rise to those heights by way of amusing an audience. Mostly we find ourselves in the position the French describe as “avoir l’esprit de l’escalier”, meaning “being unable to think of a witty come-back until you’ve left the room and are on the way downstairs.” But those who can think on the spur of the moment put us all in their debt when they come out with a comment or a rejoinder that brings the house down. We can all do our modest best as far as that goes.’
Humpty was making a grimace.
‘Seems to me you’re teaching your grandmother to suck eggs,’ said Humpty. ‘Someone has been there before you. You like a modern translation. See Proverbs 10.32.’
You’ve got to hand it to Humpty. He knows his Bible.
NO BUILDING BUT FREE HOT DRINKS
St Luke’s, Walthamstow, East London has no church. It meets in various venues, notably in the cake stall at the Farmers’ Market and welcomes visitors with free hot drinks. It is part of the parish of Walthamstow, where Vanessa Conant leads the ministry team. St Mary’s, the lead church in the group, has in hand a £3m project that will, it is hoped, put the church at the heart of the community.
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