There were very few followers who were prepared to follow Jesus all the way to the cross and there were very few of us at this last beach hut on Holy Saturday because the weather was so awful. There is something very appropriate about focussing on death when the wind is howling around and the rain is lashing down and we had plenty of that on the seafront this day.
Helen Rawlings was the artist and we spent much of our time trying to protect her lithograph of soldiers and poppies from being damaged by the water whilst the poppy laden cross developed a beautiful shine from the water streaming down each flower.
We were reminded of Jesus words: 'greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends'.
A few hardy souls did make it down to see us and we huddled in the hut as we remembered Christ's death in the sharing of bread and wine. It all felt very appropriate as we thought back to the feelings of those first followers as they tried to process the events of the Friday crucifixion without knowing that there was going to be a Sunday resurrection.
As I write this the Easter dawn is beginning to shine through the rain clouds and I am happy to say: 'Christ is risen, he is risen indeed'.
