Icejacked

Talking on a Train

Although I loved my Audi and I missed the independence it gave me, I did enjoy travelling by train, and of course, the trains in Switzerland are the best. The trains are not so bad; the newer models are reasonable, comfortable, and fast.

The final day of our tour had been in . Ahead of us lay a five-hour journey to Euston station in London. Julie was meeting us there and taking us to the hotel she had already booked for us. The train was full. Possibly many were headed to the same destination as us. We piled our cases in the luggage area and settled into the comfortable seats. We sat opposite each other, a table between us. I had work to do, but I didn’t feel like getting out my laptop. Instead, I thought it would be a good opportunity for Leddicus and me to have a decent catch-up.

The train eased silently out of , and I was content. I had managed to juggle an extra large fresh coffee on board, and now I sipped at it, savouring the time to relax.

I looked across at Leddicus. “What a trip! How did you think it went?”

Leddicus turned to me and smiled. “I have enjoyed it, and I’m pleased with how much my English has improved. But I am surprised at how differently everyone seems to speak English. So many ways on such a small island. In this city, it was a real struggle. I had to listen very, very carefully and ask them to repeat things often. But they are kind people, and they have been nice to me. What did you think of it all?”

“I’ve enjoyed it a lot! I also got a heap of work done for my doctorate. I’m pleased I managed to fit that in and send it back to . It’s been fun being with you, and we’ve earned lots of money.” I leaned back in my seat and stretched my arms up to the ceiling. “Maybe I will yet be a famous historian!” I folded my arms and stretched out my legs. I did feel decidedly like the cat who got the cream. “I don’t think there was any part of the trip that I didn’t like. Even those two church meetings we went to. Can’t remember which places we were in at the time, but they weren’t so bad. I bet Julie put you up to that, didn’t she?”

He nodded and tapped his hip pocket, where his mobile was stowed. “Julie called me with the suggestions.” He and his mobile had become inseparable. During the trip, he’d been chatting with Julie regularly. She had called me from time to time to give me updates and act as an intermediary for Joe and me, but she and Leddicus spoke almost every day.

“I think the best bit has been Lisa.”

“Who’s she?” Leddicus shrugged.

“You know, Joe’s secretary.”

“Ah, yes, I didn’t speak to her though.”

“No, I know, but she has been fantastic. Faxing, e-mailing, phoning, and sorting out all the finance. She’s oiled the wheels of our tour and made everything go smoothly.”

Leddicus, distracted by the fabulous scenery, stared out of the window. The sun was hanging in a clear sky, and a golden light bathed the meadows. The distant craggy mountains were darkly silhouetted against the sun. Buzzards glided, almost motionless, riding effortlessly on the thermals as they waited patiently for their unsuspecting prey.

I interrupted his reverie. “Why did we end up at those churches then? What did Julie say?”

“She said I might like to try out some of the churches she had been to, and I did think they were interesting. It was pretty obvious to me that these people really are people of the way. But I still struggle with some of the structures and how they do things. It seems less natural than what I am used to. Perhaps that’s because it’s a different age. Our community was just us living out what we had been taught. We didn’t see the church as being everything, but I think these people see it that way.”

“You’ve lost me, Leddicus. Not sure I understand your problem, although something happened at one of the meetings that nearly scared me to death!”

“I didn’t see you get sick!” Leddicus looked quite worried.

I laughed aloud. He still did not get some of the colloquialisms and had a tendency to take them literally. “No, I wasn’t sick. I was very scared. One of the guys in the church came up to me as we were getting ready to leave. The one in ? Or was it Norwich? Anyway, one of those cities.”

“What happened? Why were you scared?”

“This guy bowled over and launched straight in. ‘Hello. Hope you don’t mind, but I think God has something he wants me to tell you.’ I didn’t have a clue what he was on about so I just smiled politely and said okay. He said a lot of stuff, about how I had grown up and what I was planning to be. And then he wrapped it all up by saying, ‘The problem is, when you get where you want to be, it will not satisfy you or make you content.’ He was very accurate, and it frightened me. I’m sure he didn’t know me from a bar of soap.”

“You weren’t sick, but you were dirty?” Leddicus asked.

I could tell he was winding me up. “No, wise guy, I just meant he didn’t know me at all. We had never met, but he was telling me about my life, and he seemed to know it very well. Scarily well!”

Leddicus smiled. “I am glad God is still doing those things today.”

This conversation was getting far too deep for me. I didn’t want to pursue it any further. Perhaps I should get out my laptop and do some work. But I was intrigued about the structure issue Leddicus had mentioned earlier. That would be a good way to change the subject.

“What did you mean about the structure? How was it so different to what you were used to? Not that either of us can understand it. We only went to two meetings.”

Leddicus screwed up his face in deep thought for a while and then took a deep breath. “The thing is, Jesus told us that, first and foremost, we should seek the kingdom of , the community that I call people of the way. Today, what people seem to call the church have the job of doing what Jesus said, seeking God’s kingdom. That’s everything that’s on Earth. It’s all God’s business. The kingdom is much bigger than the people of the way, and God is at work in his entire world. It seems to me, from what I observed in the churches we attended, although the people were lovely, they appeared more worried about getting people into their church buildings than seeking God’s kingdom. Maybe I have it wrong, but that’s how it looked to me. But for me, seeking God’s kingdom is all about changing the world!”

“Wow, Leddicus, you definitely should be a politician. That was a heavy-duty speech!”

We both laughed.

“I am from a different world,” Leddicus reminded me. “And you have often asked me why I am careful about what I say, even if I have the right words.” He grew serious again. “I can never forget that I’m a follower of the way. Where I live, it’s very easy to be killed for what I am saying, especially about the kingdom of . I had two very close friends. We met regularly on the first day of the week and spent many hours discussing the way. One week when I was away, soldiers discovered where my friends were meeting and told everyone their gathering was against the law. Right there and then, they ran my friends through with their swords.” He paused and took a deep breath.

“They were slaves, so it was easy for the soldiers to do this to them without any further consequences. It would be a bit harder for them to kill me without any questions being asked, not impossible though, but I would still risk my life by saying these things.”

It just seemed like a story from history to me. To be honest, what he said didn’t affect me deeply. “Why was it like that? Why were you safer than slaves?” I asked.

“I had the privilege of education. My father was a well-paid Roman official. I had been very fortunate. But dominates the world. The is everywhere. It makes slaves of thousands and oppresses them. Caesar is called the son of god, and people worship him like a god. We celebrate Caesar’s birthday, and it’s supposed to be the Good News Day. Then along comes people like me, followers of the way, many of us slaves. We say Jesus is king, and he is good news. We also say he has risen from the dead and knowing this King Jesus can change your values, your innermost being, and your thinking. That is very threatening to and Caesar. That is why I am careful, but it doesn’t mean I don’t believe what I say or follow. I am just extremely careful so I can stay alive as long as possible.”

“I can see how passionate you are about what you are saying. Perhaps we should let you talk in some of the churches as well as the universities. I doubt they would pay us very well unless we went to , which brings me to something else I need to discuss with you. When we get back, Joe wants to talk to us about a tour in , a TV documentary, a book about your life, and the possibility of a movie, all good money-making ideas. But what do you want to do next?”

Two deep creases formed between his brows. He took a deep breath and slowly released it slowly. He spread his hands out on the table and looked across at me plaintively. “Actually, I would like to go home to Caesarea. I really miss my friends, family, and, well, everything.”

I took a sharp, involuntary breath, and my mind went blank for a moment. I looked across at him with what I hoped was a sympathetic face, but I knew I couldn’t pretend all was well. “I don’t think home will be anything like it was when you left, my friend. But here is my suggestion. How about we extend the tour for a couple of months to the USA? And then I promise I’ll take you back to .”

I was concerned he might flip out when he went back to his hometown and saw it as it really was. I wanted to be sure that I built up my bank balance some more before I took that risk. I could sense he was still deeply confused and I wondered if he put on an act of acceptance of the situation as protection for his own mental well-being.

He looked at me. Aching sadness filled his face, but he nodded slowly.

“I don’t think you will like what you find in Caesarea, and I’m not sure what we will do there or afterward.” I tailed off, sensing that, although Leddicus was here and had been for some months, he just did not understand some things or perhaps did not want to face up to them. I had no idea what to do about that.

“ is a fun place, and the American people will love you.”

“Okay, it sounds good to me.” His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

I checked my watch. I was amazed to see we were only forty-five minutes from .

“Leddicus, let’s eat. I’ll go get us some coffee and sandwiches. It’s not long now until we arrive in .”

He brightened a little at this. “Is Julie meeting us?”

I nodded and left him with that happy thought and headed off to hunt down some food.

We had just finished our late lunch as the train pulled into Euston. We piled off the train and there at the end of the station was the familiar sight of Julie Bright, sporting a bright red jacket and an even brighter smile.