Today we continued our journey into the Passion story, and encountered four people who were,  some way, there in the gospel narrative of the trial and execution of Jesus...

• Pilate's wife, who may have been in Rome rather than Jerusalem, and whose message went unheeded
• Simon, a visitor from Cyrene in modern day Libya, who was dragged into an event where he had no control
• The mother of the sons of Zebedee - presumably the quarrelsome James and John - who, with other women, stood silently at the place of execution
• Joseph from a place called Arimathea, that no-one quite knows where it was, who had the audacity to ask for body of the dead Jesus, and who ensured it was safely laid to rest before nightfall

Similar numbers to last night, albeit a slightly different mix of people, each engaging with the story, praying, wondering, remembering, imagining...

I popped back late this afternoon to close up the tomb, to lay our Jesus to rest. 

Tomorrow the garden is open for quiet prayer and reflection... then what will Sunday bring?

Maundy Thursday Evening... a Tenebrae service with simple communion. This year adapted from a published liturgy entitled 'I was there' by David E Ridenhour, we heard from seven 'voices' who were there throughout Jesus' life but especially so during his final hours... 

• Doubt
• Sorrow
• Fear
• Shame
• Agony
• Hate
• Death

We were, I think, seventeen or eighteen in total, gathered at the close of day to listen to scripture, to break bread, drink wine and hear the voices speak into the gathering gloom...

As always, a powerful and poignant way to begin the Easter weekend.  Grateful to those who read, who washed up afterwards, and of course to those who participated with their quiet presence.