One day Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. However in this account, Jack didn't fall down and break his crown, nor did Jill come tumbling after. No, because when they had climbed the extremely steep hill to the well at the very top from where they had always drawn their water, they discovered, to their horror, that the well was completely dry. So the only thing that was pale now was Jack's face as he looked deep into the well and could no longer see his reflection down below in the depths. 'Why don't you try shouting into it?' said Jill. 'Sure that won't make the water come back,' replied Jack. 'No, you're right there,' said Jill, 'but at least you'll no for certain by the echo if there really is any water down there.' So Jack shouted at the top of his voice, the same way he always did when he preached a sermon, but alas, there was no response. 'What are we going to do, Jack?' enquired his beloved wife Jill who was heavily expecting him to solve the problem right there and then. Jack thought for a while, then he thought some more, while his wife also laboured to find a solution. Then, a moment of inspiration arrived. 'I've got it!' he shrieked. 'Oh please tell me dear, what are we to do, for I need water to drink, to wash our clothes, to boil your potatoes and to have a good old shower,' said Jill, now blossoming with excitement. 'I have a friend who owes us a favour,' said Jack. ' and today, my dear, is payback time.'
Meanwhile, down at the bottom of the hill, Mr. H Dumpty was sitting quite happily on a fairly high wall, strumming a few Van Morrison tunes on his ukulele, when he accidentally slipped as he tried to play a very difficult chord because something distracted his attention. He had a great fall. There was no doubt that he had broken something and when he realised that it wasn't a guitar string but probably a bone instead, he pulled out his mobile phone and rang 999 and asked for an ambulance. Soon the vehicle arrived from King's hospital and took him away, but no matter how they tried, they just couldn't put him together the way he was and eventually the doctor had to inform him that he would probably have a slight limp for the rest of his life. When he heard the news he was definitely a bit humped!
Mrs. Dumpty answered the doorbell. It was their good friends, Jack and Jill. All three of them stood on the doorstep, chatting for a long while, but she made no effort to ask them in, which seemed quite unusual to them. Eventually she said, 'Look, I would invite you in but I've just cleaned the house from top to bottom and, quite frankly, you both smell absolutely awful. I hope you don't mind, but my husband is not here at present and I really could do with an early night.' 'But don't you remember that you owe us a favour?' said Jack. 'What could that be,?I don't recall anything,' answered Mrs, Dumpty. Before he could answer, his wife butted in. 'Well, Jack taught your husband that new Van Morrison song one night,' she said. 'Now we are wondering, seeing as you are our very good friends, if we could have some water to help us cook our tea, because there is no water in our well. Oh and also, if you didn't mind, maybe we could have a quick shower when we're here too.' 'Out of the question,' answered Mrs. Dumpty. But they kept pleading with her and indeed refused to go, occasionally adding some other demands along the way, such as fresh towels, anti dandruff shampoo, tea tree conditioner, Tesco shower gel, water at a temperature of exactly 40 degrees and a shower cap for Jill's long hair. Eventually, after some weeping and gnashing of teeth, Mrs. Dumpty decided to show kindness to the young couple, gave them water fro their cooking and allowed them to use the shower room that she had just spent the previous hour cleaning. As they left, Jack and Jill turned to her and shouted, 'Thank you for your kindness, see you tomorrow night for the same again!' It was at this precise moment that Mr. Dumpty fell off the wall!
OK it's only a story, and not a very good one at that. I'd much prefer to have had the two of them tumbling down the hill. At least that would have meant there was water in the well. But the moral of this story lies not only in the kindness of one person to another but also in their persistence. Jesus tells a similar type of parable in Luke 11 about a friend who arrives at midnight at another house asking for some bread in an emergency and though the owner is initially reluctant to get up and help him, eventually he does show his kindness, but only because of the friend's boldness and persistence. Jesus' point of course is in the verses that follow, where He says, 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.' And in this short story and explanation, He tells how God shows His kindness to us and will give us what He knows we need, in this case His Holy Spirit, so that we can live lives that are closer imitations of the life of the sinless One, His own Son , Jesus. I guess that puts our efforts at kindness into perspective but it should also remind us that when we help others in need, through our kindness, we are doing those deeds that reflect our love of Him. I guess the water He supplies never runs out.
