Part of that calendar includes a week that we call Holy Week, which happens to be this week. It comes at the end of the liturgical season of Lent. (Lent isn't just a Catholic thing...) Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, where we celebrate Christ's entry into Jerusalem. Some traditions observe special days almost every night of Holy Week, however, our next big night is Maundy Thursday. On Maundy Thursday, we remember the Last Supper, Jesus washing the disciple's feet, and Jesus' command that we love one another just as he has loved us. Next, we observe Good Friday, the day that Jesus was crucified.
For those of you following along, you've probably already figured out that Holy Week concludes with our celebration of the resurrected Christ on Easter Sunday. However, I skipped one important day, a lot of people do. The day between Good Friday and Easter is typically called Holy Saturday or Easter Vigil. In the Catholic tradition, it's a big night for baptisms...and looooooong church services. However, many other people skip this day.
It's not a surprise that many people skip Holy Saturday, it's a painful day. Jesus is dead, the disciples are hiding, nobody knew what Sunday morning would behold. As if Good Friday wasn't hard enough, the disciples saw their leader, their Lord, their teacher, their Messiah die on a cross. Hung there by the oppressive Roman occupiers, left there to die like a criminal.
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews
Jesus' followers may have believed he was going to rise again, but they had no way of knowing that he would rise again. In fact, if you read Mark's Gospel, (as we are this liturgical year) you will see that the women going to visit the tomb aren't looking for the resurrected Christ, they're going to finish the funeral process.
It's no surprise that many people skip Holy Saturday, Hell, most Christians outside of the "liturgical" traditions don't even observe Good Friday. We love to talk about resurrection, but we don't like to acknowledge death.
Jesus was dead. One third of the Holy Trinity died on the cross.
We don't like to acknowledge Jesus' death because we have a hard time coming to terms with death in our own life.
Most people who ignore Good Friday are the same ones who will tell you, "You shouldn't be sad that your loved one died, they're in Heaven now."
But the truth is, death wasn't easy for the disciples. And, it isn't easy for us. Faith wasn't easy for the disciples. And, it isn't so easy for us.
But, again, we love to skip Good Friday because death is inconvenient and the resurrection is awesome. When Jesus died on the cross, his disciples didn't high five each other and say "Glad that's over! Our sins are forgiven, we get to go to Heaven!"
No, they hid. They were heartbroken. They were terrified. They knew that they had denied and abandoned Jesus. Their faith was shaken.
These very disciples who walked alongside Jesus were not positive that they'd see him again.
Holy Saturday, was a long, painful, sorrow-filled, day of despair and doubts.
Many of you know this feeling. Many of you have experienced Holy Saturday when you have faced the death of a loved one.
Furthermore, you know that some part of every day can feel like Holy Saturday. Grief. Doubt. Pain. Separation. Despair. And, like the disciples, you're wondering how Jesus is going to fix this.
Some days, you get to move forward. Some days, you encounter the risen Christ and you know that all will be well. But, there are also some days that you go back to Good Friday, you see Jesus dying on the cross, you re-live the death of your loved one.
But, for those of us who grieve, most days are Holy Saturdays.
I remember someone asking me how I felt during Tiffany's funeral, and I told them that I felt like those scared disciples hiding out on Saturday praying that Jesus would rise again.
Even on my best days, I still have moments where I feel like those disciples. Trusting in everything that Jesus said, but never truly knowing.
This is what faith is. Faith is trusting and believing, not knowing and being absolutely positive.
However, in the Holy Saturdays of our lives, we must remember that they are holy. They are holy because God lives into that tension with us.
God knows our grief. We are told that Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. So too does Jesus weep with us at the death of our loved ones, our loved ones who were doing God's work here on earth.
God knows our fears and uncertainties. We are told that Jesus prayed for the cup of suffering to be taken from him in the Garden of Gethsemane. So too does Jesus long for our cup of suffering to be taken from us, on the day that he will wipe away all of our tears and make all things new.
God knows our despair. We are told that as he hang dying on the cross, Jesus exclaimed "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" So too does Jesus hear and understand our feelings of forsakenness when we cry out to him in our pain and despair.
Holy Saturday is just as important as the rest of Holy Week, because Holy Saturday can be every day of our lives when we are separated from the ones we love.
It's important that we recognize and live into that tension during our times of grief. To deny it is to downplay or mask the pain of separation. To downplay the pain of separation, we ignore the deep love we held for our loved one.
You can't have resurrection without death.
You can't get to Easter Sunday from Good Friday without living through Holy Saturday.
Fortunately, like the disciples, we don't have to experience our Holy Saturdays alone. We can grieve together, and we can help each other along as we wait.
And we all know, waiting is the hard part.
May our wait not be too long.
Come, Lord Jesus.
I pray that you all experience the hope of the risen Christ as you celebrate the resurrection tomorrow, on Easter Sunday.
Grace and Peace,
Robert
