F is for FORK

The name Thomas Coryate is not a name with which I am familiar, though he is generally credited with introducing the fork to England after seeing it used at the dining table in Italy during his travels around the beginning of the seventeenth century. It would appear that the Greeks were the first to introduce the idea of using forks, but then only as an aid to carving meat before it was eaten and mostly consisting of two large tines. Initial reaction in England was anything but encouraging for Coryate as most people felt it unnecessary to use a fork when God had given them hands but slowly the more wealthy came to adopt them as important implements for handling sticky foods or for berries that would otherwise have stained the fingers and very soon most rich families had invested in them as a symbol of their wealth and sophistication. And in time it was also realised that with only two times, too much food tended to slip through and never reach the mouth, thus the development of forks with three and four tines, much as we see them today. However there remained a large proportion of the population who continued to view this piece of cutlery as only for the effeminate.

I've been thinking a lot about forks recently, mainly because most of ours have disappeared. Often, we go to the cutlery drawer at dinner times to discover one section completely empty, yet the knife and spoon sections full to overflowing. It just doesn't make sense, mainly because we have always bought complete sets of cutlery so that, in theory, there should be the same number of forks as any other utensil. But no, apart from a few in the dishwasher, the whole place is bereft of forks and while we have not been reduced to pre-seventeenth century England table manners, there have been occasions when the temptation has arisen in the thoughts, but again quickly dispelled by rushing to the dishwasher for solace and of course a fork. And though we have made extensive searches in all the places you would expect and not expect to find forks in the house and outside, pursued hopeful lines of investigation with the two more junior members of the household who often prefer to eat using a fork without a knife and even kept a close eye on Whitie our cat, we are running up a blind alley. Recently I have found myself visiting hardware and fancy goods stores, places that are generally alien to me, and investigating the price of forks. though, to my utter disgust, I find that mostly they don't come separate from the rest of the cutlery set and we certainly don't need any more knives or spoons. In moments of extreme weakness, I have come to conclusions about their disappearance that range from the possible, i.e. they have been accidentally thrown in the bin or one of the boys has borrowed some for his house at university, to the unlikely, i.e. people we invite for dinner have been stealing them, to the downright ridiculous, i.e. a large mouse comes out of the attic when we are at school and drags them back to the top of the house where he is preparing a massive metal weapon with which to attack Whitie!Anyway, as they say, who needs a fork when God has given you fingers. And fingers taste better anyway!

AT home mum had a couple of forks that never made it near the table. One, she used to help her hold the Sunday roast or the Christmas turkey secure while she carved. The other, which had a cream coloured handle and three much wider and less sharp tines was the toasting fork which appeared most mornings and late evenings to hold loaf bread in front of the square opening of the Wellstood cooker where a bright orange fire was always burning and where the best toast was always made. There was a knack to using this fork, because if you pushed the tines too far through the slice of bread, the fork was too close to the fire and it was impossible to hold it there long enough for the bread to toast, but when the fork was only peeping though the other side, the bread could be browned without any lasting damage to the toaster's flesh. Yet while the fork was essential for that job, it was completely useless without the fire.

And just as God guided the Israelites by night using fire, when He saves us He baptizes us with the fire of the Holy Spirit to be our guide here on earth. And once His fire is within us we can do what He intended us to do in His greater plan. No wonder Paul says 'Do not put out the Spirit's fire.' for without the Spirit we are of no use in His work.

And just as there are many forks for different purposes such as serving, carving, toasting, dining, desserts, salad, steak and fish forks, so even though we are all different in some ways, each has a specific job to do for God and that is why we are made in the way we are, specially suited for His work. As Paul says 'In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.' Yes, we may look different, speak with different languages and have different abilities but we are all part of that greater body of Christ, each with his own special job. Isn't it time we began serving Him and dining properly at His table?