Holy Saturday - April 7, 2012
Matthew 27:57 - 66
As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Holy Saturday is in-between time. Holy Week builds to the crucifixion on Good Friday, then takes a Sabbath pause on Saturday. As Sabbath, it is a day of rest, and Jesus' body was hurriedly placed in the tomb for safekeeping in order to observe the Sabbath. It's why the women came to the tomb early on Sunday, after Sabbath was over, to care for his body in a more permanent way for burial.
I have a lot of questions this morning about Holy Saturday and what it means. I have some theological questions about the day, and I have some technical questions about stones and seals and such.
Mostly today, though, I feel invited into resting. The emotions of a Passion week do not subside easily, so today is a day for retrospect, for pondering the meaning of these events.
Personally, I have difficulty shopping on Holy Saturday, or being too active. If I have taken seriously the invitation to walk with Jesus through his Passion, then I need the rest of the day. I tend to lay low. Sometimes I'll observe some kind of fast through the day. I'll try to remain quiet.
I've realized that I feel very familiar with sorrow and grief. I think it may be one of my gifts, to not be afraid of the darkness. For the most part, I'm willing to be in the darkness without needing to change it. I don't commend that for everyone, but it seems to be part of the way my own spiritual/emotional DNA is ordered. That doesn't mean I enjoy it or seek it out, but I'm usually not disturbed by it. I'm okay with dissonance. I don't have to fix it or alter it.
So this is the day of the tomb. If you're not comfortable with darkness and tight spaces, you might want to rush ahead to Resurrection. If you're at home in darkness, you might want to say here in the rest of Sabbath for a long time. You might spend some time today locating where you are with the darkness of the day.
For today . . . spend some time resting, pondering Lent and Holy Week. Use part of the day for Sabbath rest. Ponder where you have walked through Lent, and what it has been like for you to arrive at this day. Try not to jump ahead to tomorrow. As much as you can, be faithfully present today.
As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Holy Saturday is in-between time. Holy Week builds to the crucifixion on Good Friday, then takes a Sabbath pause on Saturday. As Sabbath, it is a day of rest, and Jesus' body was hurriedly placed in the tomb for safekeeping in order to observe the Sabbath. It's why the women came to the tomb early on Sunday, after Sabbath was over, to care for his body in a more permanent way for burial.
I have a lot of questions this morning about Holy Saturday and what it means. I have some theological questions about the day, and I have some technical questions about stones and seals and such.
Mostly today, though, I feel invited into resting. The emotions of a Passion week do not subside easily, so today is a day for retrospect, for pondering the meaning of these events.
Personally, I have difficulty shopping on Holy Saturday, or being too active. If I have taken seriously the invitation to walk with Jesus through his Passion, then I need the rest of the day. I tend to lay low. Sometimes I'll observe some kind of fast through the day. I'll try to remain quiet.
I've realized that I feel very familiar with sorrow and grief. I think it may be one of my gifts, to not be afraid of the darkness. For the most part, I'm willing to be in the darkness without needing to change it. I don't commend that for everyone, but it seems to be part of the way my own spiritual/emotional DNA is ordered. That doesn't mean I enjoy it or seek it out, but I'm usually not disturbed by it. I'm okay with dissonance. I don't have to fix it or alter it.
So this is the day of the tomb. If you're not comfortable with darkness and tight spaces, you might want to rush ahead to Resurrection. If you're at home in darkness, you might want to say here in the rest of Sabbath for a long time. You might spend some time today locating where you are with the darkness of the day.
For today . . . spend some time resting, pondering Lent and Holy Week. Use part of the day for Sabbath rest. Ponder where you have walked through Lent, and what it has been like for you to arrive at this day. Try not to jump ahead to tomorrow. As much as you can, be faithfully present today.
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