Froward and unable worm? Three-inch fool? As thick as Tewkesbury mustard? Shakespeare was a genius insults that amuse those listening – and also make us think again before we really understand them.
But could an insult also be a gift to the one insulted, revealing something that is both true and fixable?
One of John the Baptist’s most memorable phrases is just such an insult: You Brood of Vipers. This is what he called the people coming to hear him and wanting to be baptised by him. Not quite the message his PR advisors would recommend! But John wasn’t about PR, he was about truth. And if Viper is a fitting metaphor, maybe we need to hear it?
John’s message was of repentance; those coming to him knew they were wrong and needed to change. So they asked, and he told them: stop putting yourself first, start being a neighbour – bear fruit in keeping with repentance from your selfishness.
And then he pointed them to Jesus – who, he said, will baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. Repentance is important, but not enough. Sin leads to death, but “In his great mercy he has given us new birth … through the resurrection …” (1 Pet 1:3).
Raymond.