In the Soup

“In The Soup” by Robert Walsh

My dictionary says that the word minister is etymologically related to the word minestrone. I am not making this up. They are both derived from a Latin root that means to serve.

The image of ministry as minestrone is particularly apt for the ministry churchpeople do all together that make us a ministering congregation. Each bean, each vegetable, each unit of macaroni or pinch of spice gives not only its substance to the soup but also its spirit, its texture its color, its flavour and aroma. Each person offers a unique set of gifts, and if we do our job organizing well, each gift will be creatively matched with a need – so that the whole business becomes a warm, nourishing, life giving religious community.

All who serve the church and the principles and values we hold dear are ministers. If you are doing part of that work, you are doing ministry, no matter how unlikely it may seem. You are in the soup – the minestrone of ministry!"

I really love the fact that ministry and minestrone are etymologically linked...it brings together two loves of mine...

Over the winter I have re-discovered an old love, soup. There are many varieties of soup, some are more to my tastes than others. My favourite is pea and ham soup.

Peas, particularly mushy peas, are a great Yorkshire delicacy. In my family we even have mushy peas with Christmas dinner. I love it! I remember as a child one of my favourite meals was pie and peas. My mother would soak the peas the night before so that she could prepare the meal for all of us after she returned from work the next day. At the time I am sure I never really appreciated the loving effort that went into all of this, to provide for her family. Gratitude is something I’ve learned about later in life. It’s taken me a long time, too long actually, to understand that love is expressed in the simple acts we do for one another each and every day. In those simple acts the love that is God comes to life; when we give from our heart to another God's love is once again incarnated.

When I first read Robert Walsh’s meditation “In the soup” it made me smile broadly. I love the fact that minister and minestrone are etymologically linked. As I have written before I have a developing love of etymology, the history of words. It seems to me that often the original meaning of words is more interesting than their modern incarnation. I also reckon that we can trace our human development through understanding the journey that words have been on. For example I recently discovered that as I write this blog I am actually staring at two codpieces on my keyboard. For an explanation please check out the following link http://blog.inkyfool.com/2010/03/parenthetical-codpieces.html

While it is amusing to me to know that a bowl of soup and my work are etymologically linked can they actually be linked in function? Could they possibly be? Well maybe. Maybe they aren’t as different as they initially appear. After all both minestrone and ministry mean to serve.

Now of course it is not just the minister who ministers in church and chapel communities, all who congregate together do so to some degree or another. All bring something to the flavour, the substance and the spirit of the community. Everyone has different gifts and talents and by combining together a wholesome and tasty meal is created. No one ingredient is more important than the other and if one ingredient is missing, the meal just won’t work. It is the sum of all its parts that makes a spiritual community what is is. What the community create together they can then offer to the world outside of their window and by doing so they may well draw others to the community who can bring their own unique flavour to the minestrone.

I believe that is the point that the Epistle Paul was making in his first letter to the congregation at Corinth some 2,000 years ago (1 Corithians ch 12) . In his letter he is pointing out that each of member possesses special gifts and that no gift is superior to the other. These gifts are there for the good of the whole. The key it would appear was to combine their gifts and use them together so that they could then build the Beloved Community that they sought. Is this that different to Ministrone?

This brings to mind a story I first heard at primary school. It has stayed with me ever since. It must be a thousand years old and versions of it can be found in many cultures throughout the world.

This is the story of "Stone Soup"

"Once upon a time, in a remote village, a woman heard a knock on her door. She was surprised to find a traveller on her doorstep – visitors to her village were few and far between. The traveller had journeyed a long way, and he asked, very politely, for something to eat.

The woman replied sadly, ‘I’m sorry, I have nothing in the house right now.’

The traveller smiled. ‘Not to worry,’ he said. ‘I have a magical soup stone in my bag. If you will let me put it in a pot of boiling water, I’ll make the most delicious soup in the world.’

The woman did not really believe the traveller, but she thought she had nothing to lose, so she lit a fire, filled her largest pot with water, and started to heat it.

While it was warming up she popped next door and whispered to her neighbour about her visitor and his magical soup stone. The neighbour whispered the story to her other neighbours, and by the time the water started to boil the whole village was crowded into the woman’s kitchen.

While everyone stared, the stranger dropped the stone into the water. 

Then the stranger tasted a spoonful of soup and smacked his lips and cried out, ‘Ah, delicious!’ He paused for a moment, then added, ‘All it needs is some potatoes.’

‘I have some potatoes back in my kitchen,’ shouted the neighbour and quickly went back to her house. In a few minutes she was back with a huge pile of sliced potatoes. The traveller placed them into the pot. 

The traveller tasted again – ‘Ah, marvellous!’ he said. But then he added wistfully, ‘But if only we had some meat, this soup could become a really tasty stew.’

Another villager rushed home to bring the meat that she had been going to use for that night’s meal. The traveller accepted it with gratitude and added it to the pot.

Then he tasted it again: ‘Ah, most excellent. If we just had some vegetables it would be perfect, absolutely perfect.’ 

One of the neighbours dashed back to her house and returned with a mountain of carrots and onions. These were added and boiled for a few minutes.

Then he tasted again and called out: ‘Seasoning!’ which was quickly handed to him.

The stranger took a final taste and danced with glee. ‘Bowls and spoons for everyone!’ he shouted.

People rushed off to their homes to find bowls and spoons. Some even brought back bread, cheese and fruit.

Then they all sat down to a delicious meal. The traveller ladled out large helpings of his magical soup. Everyone felt happy as they sat down to the very first meal they had shared as a whole village.

In the middle of the meal the stranger slipped quietly away, leaving behind the magical soup stone, which they could use any time they wanted to make the most delicious soup in the world."

I love the stone soup story. Again it teaches about community about working together to create something wholesome and fulfilling; that the community is what each person brings to it. It brings to mind another story about soup. This story is from the Jewish tradition, although again there are versions of it in virtually every tradition throughout the world. Perhaps the best known is the Japanese version known as “chopsticks”.

"There is an old Hasidic story of a rabbi who had a conversation with the Lord about Heaven and Hell. “I will show you hell,” said the Lord, and led the rabbi into a room containing a group of famished, desperate people sitting around a large circular table. In the centre of the table rested an enormous pot of soup, more than enough for everyone. The soup smelled delicious and the rabbi’s mouth began to water with anticipation. After awhile he noticed that no one was eating, they were trying, but not one could get the soup into their mouths. Each diner had a long-handled spoon, attached to their hands, that was long enough to reach the pot and scoop up some of the soup, but too long to get the soup into their mouths. On witnessing such suffering, the rabbi bowed his head in compassions.

“Now I will show you heaven”, said the Lord, and they entered another room that was identical to the first. It had the same round table and same pot of soup and the same long handled spoons. Yet the people in this other room were vastly different. They were full of the joys of life and they were well fed. The poor rabbi, just could not understand why and he looked to the Lord. The Lord answered “It is simple, but it requires a certain skill. You see the people in this room have learned to feed each other.”

Minestrone and ministry share the same root, they both mean to serve. It is the purpose  of communities like the ones that I to serve to be places where people practise serving one another. By doing so they create a meal, made up of so many ingredients, that can satisfy them all. It's more than that though, the meal is for everyone, the point is to serve it to world outside of the communities window. to see if they would like to taste what the community has to offer.this meal to those who would like to taste what they have to offer. 

One of my many roles as minister is to feed the congregation I serve through the worship we share, hopefully the meal is enough to satisfy them throughout the week and hopefully to some extent it inspires them to feed others who they come into contact with during their daily interactions. The feeding though should not be seen as a one way affair. They feed me too, in so many ways. Of all the truths I have learnt perhaps the greatest is that it is in giving that we receive. The Heaven and Hell story teaches this so well. In the very act of feeding another, we are fed ourselves. No one goes hungry we are all fulfilled, we are all fully filled.

If I have learnt anything about the spiritual life I have learnt that at its core are two basic principles, love and service. Surely the spiritual life is not just about serving ourselves, but one another. By doing so we feed one another's spirits. I have learnt that in that relationship, in that space we can experience the Love that is Divine.

Everyone thirsts and hungers even in our seemingly materially abundant lives. We cannot feed this hunger in isolation in self reliance it is only fed in that relationship that occurs as we feed one another. To me this is the purpose of religious communities like the ones I serve, living breathing fellowships of love. It is also my experience that it is in this space, in this relationship that occurs as we serve one another, that God is revealed that God is once again incarnated. By giving one to another we can know the love that is God.

We all hunger for purpose and meaning. As Viktor Frankl pointed out we are driven by a will to find meaning and purpose. I would go further and suggest that we are also driven to find companionship in our increasingly isolated and isolating culture. We need to serve one another, or our souls will starve. I have discovered and I keep on discovering that our deepest pangs are not satisfied by the food that is laid on the table but in the relationship that occurs as we feed one another and as we drink from one another’s cup. This is fellowship. This to me is the essence of a spiritual community.

As I wrote in my previous blog this is what I will be focusing on this Lent, to find ways to give of myself to others, instead of self serving; to give from my heart, to minister to world that I come into daily contact with. I commend this idea to you who read this, your world needs it too. It needs you to add your own flavour and your own substance to the soup that is life, by doing so you may well inspire others to add theirs.

Remember the stone soup story. The stranger brought the gift of the stone and through it, through awakening their intrigue, he inspired others to bring what gifts they had to offer. And guess what by doing so they all ate and they were all filled and they developed a community of love that they could all benefit from. For me this is the point of the spiritual life, for everyone to bring their stones and inspire others to bring their gifts to the table and join together and begin to create the Commonwealth of Love, right here right now.

Remember we are all in the soup together, so bring your substance and your flavour to the pot and lets create a meal that fully fill us all. We can all be fulfilled.

From you I receive, to you I give, together we share and from this we live. 


If you click on the link below you can view a service of worship which was created from the ideas explored in this blogspot....

Telling the Tale

There are many elements to ministry, most of which I love. One of the greatest joys is creating worship. The Unitarian and Free Christian tradition in which I have found a home not only allows but encourages a broad scope. I truly am given the freedom of the pulpit and can explore any theme or subject I wish...I'm actually given far more freedom than I often take.

Something I have always loved is the sharing of stories from the worlds many traditions. I don't suppose I will ever exhaust all them in the years to come. In the two years that I served the good folk of Altrincham and Urmston we have had a lot of fun and some seriousness with the tales we have shared...below is a collection of some of them...


I will offer no explanation for each individual tale as I would like them to stand for themselves and for who ever reads them to make their own sense of them...hope they open you up as they have opened me up,,,

Standing on One Foot

A man came to talk with Rabbi Shamai, one of the most famous of all the rabbis, nearly as famous as Rabbi Hillel.

"I would like to convert to Judaism and become a Jew," said the man. "But I don't have much time. I know I have to learn the entire book you call the Torah, but you must teach it to me while I stand on one foot."

The Torah is the most important Jewish book there is, and this crazy man wanted to learn it while standing on one foot? Why, people spent years learning the Torah; it was not something you can learn in five minutes! Rabbi Shamai grew angry with this man, and he pushed the man away using a builder's yardstick he happened to be holding in his hand.

The man hurried away, and found Rabbi Hillel. "I would like to convert to Judaism and become a Jew," said the man. "But I don't have much time. I know I have to learn the entire book you call the Torah, but you must teach it to me while I stand on one foot."

"Certainly," said Rabbi Hillel. "Stand on one foot."

The man balanced on one foot.

"Repeat after me," said Rabbi Hillel. "What is hateful to you, don't do that to someone else."

The man repeated after Rabbi Hillel, "What is hateful to me, I won't do that to someone else."

"That is the whole law," said Rabbi Hillel. "All the rest of the Torah, all the rest of the oral teaching, is there to help explain this simple law. Now, go and learn it so it is a part of you."

Life Is Echo

A man and his son were walking in the forest.
Suddenly the boy trips and feeling a sharp pain he screams, “Ahhhhh.”
Surprised, he hears a voice coming from the mountain, “Ahhhhh!”
Filled with curiosity, he screams:
“Who are you?”,
but the only answer he receives is:
“Who are you?”

This makes him angry, so he screams:
“You are a coward!”,
and the voice answers:
“You are a coward!”

He looks at his father, asking,
“Dad, what is going on?”
“Son,” the man replies, “pay attention!”
Then he screams, “I admire you!”
The voice answers: “I admire you!”

The father shouts, “You are wonderful!”,
and the voice answers:
“You are wonderful!”

The boy is surprised, but still can’t understand what is going on.
Then the father explains,
“People call this ‘ECHO’,
but truly it is ‘LIFE!’ Life always gives you back what you give out!
Life is a mirror of your actions.
If you want more love, give more love!
If you want more kindness, give more kindness!
If you want understanding and respect, give understanding and respect!
If you want people to be patient and respectful to you, give patience and respect!
This rule of nature applies to every aspect of our lives.”

Life always gives you back what you give out.
Your life is not a coincidence, but a mirror of your own doings.

Six Blind Men and the Elephant

 “The Perfect Woman”

Nasrudin met an old friend whom he had not seen for twenty years. They sat down together in the cafe and talked over old times. “did you ever get married Nasruddin?” asked the friend.

“No I’m afraid I didn’t.”

“Why not? I’ve been married many years and I’ve never regretted it.”

“Well”, said Nasruddin, “I was always looking for the perfect woman. I wanted my wife to be beautiful, intelligent, and sensible.”

“And you never found her?”

“I thought I had, when I was twenty. Her name was Ablah.

She was beautiful, just the kind of woman I like, but I’m afraid she wasn’t very intelligent, and her language was atrocious! I was embarrassed to be with her! She certainly wasn’t the perfect woman.”

“Was she your only girlfriend?”

“No. When I was twenty-five I met a woman called Bahira. She was good looking and intelligent, but she wasn’t very sensible. She spent all my money on frivolous things, and she couldn’t even boil an egg! She wasn’t the perfect woman either.”

“Where there any more?”

“Only one. At thirty I met Haddiyah and she was truly a gift from God! She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and the most intelligent. What’s more she was prudent and sensible, a good cook, and a brilliant conversationalist.”

“She sounds like the perfect woman you were looking for.”

“Then why didn’t you marry her?”

“Unfortunately, she was looking for the perfect man!”

Two Wolves

“What Price a Kingdom”

Haroun Al-Rashid was a very powerful king. In fact he was the most powerful king in the whole world, and his influence stretched over many hundreds of miles. One day he was talking about his power and his wealth to a wise man called Aman.

“I have so much power that I can make any man do what I command; I have so much wealth that I can buy anything I like. I live in the most beautiful of palaces; I eat my food from golden plates, and I wear clothes spun from the finest silk. There is no man in the whole world who can compare with me,” he boasted.

Aman listened carefully, and then he asked the king a question. “If you were dying of thirst in the middle of a desert, what would you give for a cup of water?”

Without hesitation the king answered, “I’d give half of my kingdom!”

“And if you drank the water so fast that your stomach was in danger of bursting, what would you give for the pills which would cure your condition and keep you alive?”

“I would give the other half of my kingdom!” declared the king.

“Why then, O great king, do you boast about you fantastic wealth and your great power if you would trade then both for a cup of water and a few pills?” asked Aman.

Are you an eagle living the life of a chicken?

The Miller, His Son, and Their Donkey

"I shall have to sell that donkey of ours," said a miller to his son. "I can not afford to keep him through the winter. I will take him to town this very morning to see if I can find a buyer. You may go with me." In a little while the miller, his son, and the donkey were on their way to town.

They had not gone far when they met some girls going to a party. They were talking and laughing as they went along. One of them said, "Look at that man and boy driving a donkey. One of them surely might ride it."

The miller heard what they said, and quickly made his son mount the donkey, while he walked along at its side.

After a while they came to a group of old men who were talking very earnestly. "There," said one, "I was just saying that boys and girls have no respect for the aged. You see it is true in this case. See that boy riding while his old father has to walk."

"Get down, my son," said his father, "and I will ride." So they went on.

They next met some women coming from town. "Why!" they cried, "your poor little boy is nearly tired out. How can you ride and make him walk?" So the miller made his son ride on the donkey behind him.

They were now in town. A man coming down the street called to the miller, "Why do you make your donkey carry such a load? You can carry him better than he can carry you."

At this the miller and his son got off the donkey. They tied the donkey's legs together, turned him over on his back; and began to carry him.

A crowd soon gathered to see the strange sight. As they were crossing a bridge the donkey became frightened at the hooting of the crowd. He broke loose, fell into the river, and was drowned.

The miller was angry and ashamed. He said, "There! I have tried to please everybody and have only made a fool of myself. After this I shall do as I think best and let people say what they will."

The difference between Heaven and Hell

What are the Neighbours like?

One Sunday afternoon an old man was leaning on his garden gate, smoking his pipe, and meditating on life, when a stranger approached him. “Excuse me, sir,” said the stranger. “I’m thinking of moving to this town, and I was wondering what people are like around here?”

The old man took the pipe from his mouth and said, “What are the people like where you live now?”

“Oh I don’t like them. They are noisy, selfish, mean, and unfriendly. I’ve lived there five years and I’ve not found a single person that I like. I’ll be glad to get away from them.”

“Well said the old man, “I expect you’ll find the people around here are like that too – selfish, mean, and unfriendly. I don’t think you’ll like it here.”

The stranger walked on. A little while later, another stranger approached the old man. “Excuse me sir,” he said, I’m thinking of moving to this town, and I was wondering what the people are like round here?”

“What are the people like where you live now?”

“Oh they are fine people. I’ve grown to love them all. They are friendly, sociable, helpful. I’ll be sorry to leave, but I’ve just been promoted and so I’ve got to move house.”

“Well,” said the old man, “I expect you’ll find that the people around here are like that too – friendly, sociable, and helpful. I think you’ll enjoy living here.”

“The Seven Wonders of the World”

“Let’s make a list of the Wonders of the World,” suggested a teacher to her students one day. “We can include both man-made structures and natural phenomena,” she added.

After much discussion and some disagreement, the class came up with the following list, which the teacher wrote on the blackboard:

The Pyramids of Egypt

The Grand Canyon in Arizona

St Peter’s Basilica in Rome

The Niagara Falls

The Taj Mahal in India

The Empire State Building in New York

The Northern Lights

The teacher continued “One day you may be lucky enough to see each of these seven wonders.”

Wouldn’t you like to see all these magnificent things?” she asked the one girl who had so far taken no part in the discussion.

“Yes I would,” replied the girl. “But I have a list of my own, and it’s very different from the one on the blackboard.”

“Would you like to share it with us?” asked the teacher.

“This is my list of the wonders of the world,” she began. Then she went on:

“To see...

to hear...

to touch...

to taste...

to smell...

to laugh...and...

to love.”

The class went quiet, as the teacher and the students realised that they didn’t have to go very far to find wonder in the world.”

Learning to Write in the Sand

A story is told of two friends who were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he carved on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”

The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you carve on a stone, why?”

The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone, where no wind can ever erase it.”

Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone!

The overflowing tea cup