Icejacked

Saturday

I purposely slept late this morning, wandering down to breakfast well after ten o’clock. As expected, Julie and Leddicus were there already, nattering over croissants and orange juice. I joined them feeling decidedly moody. I wasn’t looking forward to going to some boring church service. But I had agreed, and there was no way out of it now without losing face.

As we got into the car and set off, my mood had not lifted. “What is it with this Saturday church? All a bit weird, isn’t it? Are you some kind of Seventh Day-ist or Jewish or what?” I confronted Julie, but she didn’t bite. I could see her face, smiling calmly, in the mirror.

“Why don’t you ask Leddicus when his followers of the way had their meetings?”

I couldn’t see his face, but knowing him, he would also be smiling. The fact he always sat in the front normally didn’t bother me, but it childishly riled me today.

“We meet each other as often as possible in people’s houses, in the woods, or all sorts of places. But we do have a regular meeting each Sunday, very early before it gets light. It would be about four o’clock your time.”

“Blimey, you were keen,” I said.

“Yes, we are,” said Leddicus, “but it isn’t just that. A lot of followers are slaves, and they have to start work as soon as the sun comes up, sometimes even before that.”

I was unrepentant and still goading. “You’re all weird.”

Leddicus ignored my comment. “We have to meet where we put the dead people. In fact, I met the man who took my message to Caesarea at a meeting I went to in Malet, or as you call it. They also meet where the dead people are.”

“Catacombs? Why?” I snapped.

Julie’s calming tone interjected. “It was very dangerous to be a follower, so they had to pick places that were as safe and isolated as possible. Not many people would be around a graveyard before dawn.”

“Leddicus wasn’t a slave,” I said.

“No, I’m a free man, a Roman citizen, but we all, the slaves and everyone else, want to be together. The only time we can do this is to meet very early.”

“Okay, fair enough,” I conceded grudgingly, “but that still doesn’t tell me why Julie’s bunch meets on a Saturday.”

“We don’t own a building, and we’ve struggled to find a place to rent on a Sunday. The community centre we use on Saturday is ideal. We can all meet up, spend time together, and afford the rent.”

Sullen, I sat back in my seat. I was all out of clever or annoying questions. I watched the rows of houses and shops slide past as we drove toward our destination. We eventually made our way through what appeared to be a housing estate, and Julie was soon parking at the community centre. Many other cars were parked or parking, and as we walked toward the entrance, I could tell they were all headed for the same place. As we entered the hall, I could hear a buzz of greetings. People were milling around chatting, and they all appeared to know each other.

Julie introduced us to several people, whose names I instantly forgot. A smiling, plump woman asked if we were hungry and pointed to a long table of food, soup, salad, and all kinds of bread. It was quite a spread.

Julie handed us both a plate. “It’s lunchtime, and we like to eat together. Please help yourself.” I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out £10. Julie laughed. “Don’t be silly. It’s a meal with friends. It’s free.”

Julie took Leddicus off to meet some of her friends, and I enjoyed a bowl of hearty soup and some delicious bread.

A guy wandered up and started chatting with me. “Hi, I’m Peter. Don’t think I’ve met you before.”

“Gerhardt. I’ve not been before.”

“Where are you from?”

“Switzerland. You?”

We were soon chatting away like old acquaintances, and I discovered he was a scientific high flyer.

“You’re a scientist and interested in religion!” My startled response didn’t faze him.

“Not really. Religion leaves me cold. I’m more interested in community and getting to know God.”

“I’m not sure about all of this,” I admitted.

“I know what you mean. I’ve been there. The question people kept asking me was if there were such a thing as God and could you know him. What would change? It changed my perspective, starting a long exploration for me. I’ve come a long way.” He laughed and shrugged. “I still have a long way to go. I still have a lot of questions, but I’ve had a lot of answers, too.”

“Meeting Leddicus has made me wonder about many things. Perhaps I will give it some thought.”

“Leddicus, yes, fascinating case. I’ve been following it avidly. You know him well. Do you think it’s genuine? Although I can’t imagine how it could be.”

Before I could answer, someone was speaking into a mic, “Hello, everyone. Hello and welcome. If you want to grab a seat, we can get started with some updates.”

The hubbub died down, and they got going on what I expected to be the more formal part of the gathering. But it wasn’t formal at all.

The guy with the mic threw out an invitation to the group. “Anyone with anything they want to share?”

A young girl at the front raised a hand. He smiled and beckoned her to come forward, and she took the mic.

“I’m a member of a dance group, and we needed somewhere to train. We asked to use the local school, but they wouldn’t let us.” She hesitated. She only looked about nine years old.

“What happened then?” the mic guy encouraged.

“We asked people to pray a month ago, and now the school has changed its mind. Our class starts next week. Thank you for praying.”

The whole group clapped, and some even whistled. What a poor misguided youngster, as if God would intervene about a room for a dance group. A few others got up. Some had apparent stories of answers to prayers; others had requests for prayers for problems they were facing. After this, they did a bit of singing. There were no hymn books. They used an overhead projector. I didn’t know any of the songs, but everyone else seemed to and sang with great abandon. Then someone got up and did a Bible reading. He chatted about what he had read. It all seemed very low-key and informal. Even though I didn’t want to come and didn’t want to be there, it all felt quite welcoming and unthreatening and wasn’t boring at all. It was not in the least what I had expected.

Quite soon, someone else was chatting about future plans. I didn’t quite catch what was said. I was losing interest by then, as I didn’t know who they were talking about and it meant nothing to me. Someone was sick or pregnant, and they were all planning to supply meals for a month or so. I grudgingly admitted to myself that it was a very caring act.

Leddicus was sitting with Julie and some of her friends. He was in my line of vision, and I had glanced at him a few times during the more formal proceedings. He seemed perfectly at ease. He appeared to speak the same language. I didn’t mean English. I mean he seemed to be on the same wavelength.

Someone said a brief prayer, and then people started milling about again, chatting and laughing.

I made my way over to Leddicus. “Well, matey, what did you make of church?”

“I am very much at home. I think these people understand what I have been talking about.” He seemed happier than I had seen him in a long time. “I would say they are people of the way. It’s very strange because it’s not my time and the problems are all different, but they have the same love and care for each other that we had in .”

“Uh-huh,” I responded, “It’s all a mystery to me.”

Leddicus was about to launch into a deeper explanation, but Julie, who came bustling through the crowd, saved me. “Ready to go?” She also had that same strange happy face that I had noted in Leddicus.

We made our way slowly to the exit. It reminded me of when we left the hospital. Everyone wanted to hug Leddicus, kiss him on the cheek, or shake his hand. We finally climbed into the car and waved good-bye. As usual, Leddicus sat in the front.

“Did you enjoy our get-together?” Julie said to the air.

Leddicus responded enthusiastically, “Yes, yes, very much. A community I understand. Not like my time in .”

Julie laughed. “I know what you mean, but I’m sure some of the people at that place follow the way as you know it. But I’m with you on this one. I’m not keen on structure and ceremony. I like community and reality.”

I joined in before it became the usual Julie/Leddicus tête-à-tête. “I don’t understand any of it, but quite liked the informality, although a bit of theatre is often entertaining.” I remembered my time in and my one other very odd experience of church.

“Well, that’s something at least.” Julie almost read my thoughts. “Although church isn’t something you go to, it’s actually something you are.”

The conversation was getting too deep for my liking, and I was relieved to see we were swinging into the hotel car park. I swiftly changed the subject.

“Julie, are you coming in? It would be good to get some input about plans for tomorrow. In fact, I could do with some help for the whole tour, if I’m honest, and Leddicus has a request. We need you to work some rapid magic before we leave for the tour.”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll help as much as I can. Do you want a ride to the station tomorrow? Or rather the nearest Tube to get you into King’s Cross. I think that’s what Joe said he had booked for you.”

We sat at the hotel bar, me with my coffee, Julie with her juice, and Leddicus with his statutory glass of red wine. We made plans for the next three months.