Scripture doesn't give us much of a clue on what was going on this day during Passion week. We're all familiar with Palm Sunday with it's waving branches and songs of Hosanna. We're all familiar with the week following Palm Sunday with the readings of the trial (or mistrial) of Jesus. We know the stories of the soldiers' mockery and the flogging of Christ. We are told of the Via Dolorosa as Jesus made his way up to the hill of Golgotha. And we know about the women's devotion, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus. We know all of this...an yet what happened on Holy Saturday?
In 1 Peter, there is an interesting passage that some people have interpreted as being what was going on during the hours between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. He states, "For Chirst also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water...For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does."--1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:6. Well, thanks Peter...that really helps!
So even with this brief passage, I still don't know about Holy Saturday. Maybe part of my problem this year is that it has been a really busy week for me. We had two funerals at the church this week and we had a Tenebrae service on Good Friday. Maybe I'm just tired. Or maybe I've been so busy this week that I feel anxious that I should be doing something.
| Source: Dominicana |
When I woke up this morning I knew that I needed some time with God by myself. I left the house and went outside of town a few miles to a piece of property that I discovered last summer. I'm not sure who owns the land, but I firmly believe that for this time in my life, it is there for me. I parked by truck on the empty dirt road and I read Scripture. I walked down the winding road that divides "my" property in half and I enjoyed the spring wildflowers, the songbirds, and the gorgeous greenery that surrounded me. I prayed for my friends who are going through a time of transition and for parishioners who are dealing with various issues. I prayed for my congregation, my family, and myself. And when I was finished, I felt much better and refreshed.
Maybe that's what Holy Saturday is all about. We can't always see what is going on. We can't always understand what is happening between the highs and lows of our faith journey. Maybe we're not supposed to know what happened on Holy Saturday. What we have to do is trust God and remember to give him time to take care of things. We have to remember that ministry is not always about going and doing, but it is also about being still.
In one of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers he states, "Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work." That's what Holy Saturday is for me this year. It is the greater work. It is the time between our greatest tragedy and our greatest glory. It is the lull of the sadness of Good Friday and the excitement of Easter Sunday. It is a time for God to work and for us to wait.
So today, spend time in prayer. Wait patiently. Allow God to do what needs to be done. Trust in the LORD. Take time to be holy. Until next time...
+May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.
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