With the five of us plus two dogs, Gonzo the RV was almost as full last night as he can get. Q and I had the most traditionally bedlike of the beds, in honor of our age, displacing my daughter and her husband, the vehicle's actual owners. Another in the party slept on a shelf over the driver's seat -- but then, he did have his own TV. And two more flipped the dining table and the banquette into a pair of identical twin beds.
We slept well, gently rocked just a bit whenever anyone got up in the night. In the morning, breakfast; such conversation as there was careful and quiet, to maintain personal space until after the coffee had done its work. You need to chose carefully the ones with whom you share such close quarters, for you will come to know each other very well. And so Holy Week begins.
Everyone involved thought he knew everyone else. They all thought they knew themselves, too: I will not betray you, I will remain faithful, I am brave and loyal and strong. I know what it means to be a friend, and I am ready for what lies ahead.
Well, maybe. And maybe not. Never think you know who you are, not for sure, not in every circumstance. And never use that flawed conviction as a weapon against someone who has been tried as you have not been tried -- or even as you have. Because no two of us are the same. You don't know someone else's life just because you know your own. And you know your own less well than you might suppose.
Perhaps that is the reason why we retain the stories of how even the disciples fell away: they were the leaders of the first Christian communities, and it is important to know that God can use us to lead even if we have not always been as good as we wish we were. Even your failures -- maybe especially your failures -- will be the building blocks of God's work in you.
So none of us are unworthy to walk with Christ through this difficult week, stumble though we may. And none of us are so excellent that we needn't bother.
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Tuesday evening, 7pm: Church of the Holy Trinity, South River NJ. Barbara Crafton's second Lenten evening exploring prayer.
Thursday noon: Geranium Journey to St. John's of Lattingtown, bag lunch and discussion with Barbara Crafton.
Friday, noon-3pm: St. Luke's Metuchen Good Friday Preaching service. Barbara Crafton to be among the preachers.
Saturday, April 14th: St. Barnabas in Ardsley, NY.Quiet Morning with Barbara Crafton.
Visit the events page at www.geraniumfarm.org for contact information concerning all these events and more.
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