Read John 19.38-42
Holy Saturday is one of the most difficult days in the church calendar for us to engage and engage with well. For many of us, we gloss over the day between Good Friday and Easter fully living in the reality of the resurrection and new life. For most of us Easter isn’t a surprise like it was for the first disciples, it’s a story we are well familiar with and so we struggle to grasp how incredible the story is and the full range of emotions that accompany it. Yet, this day is an incredibly important day in the life of the church, particularly for those who are grieving.
This year, more than most, Holy Saturday rings true for a lot of us. If grief of a loved one isn’t too heavy for us right now, most of us are grieving or living in the anxiety of this pandemic. We share similar thoughts to the first disciples who had no idea tomorrow was coming.
Much like the disciples we are uncertain of when life will feel “normal” again. We aren’t sure we can go back to the way things were. We wonder if this is how things have to happen. We might be questioning the goodness of God that something like this could happen. We are huddled close with those we love, scared to go outside for fear of what might happen to us, or those most dear to us.
In order to be surprised by the hope of the resurrection like my youngest daughter is surprised every time I pop out from behind a blanket. We have to take Holy Saturday seriously. It’s important for us to root ourselves in the story and emotions of the first disciples so that we too can experience the wonder and amazement tomorrow morning when we find the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and Jesus risen from the dead.
For the prayer today, I invite you to sit in silence for a period of time, maybe that’s 30 seconds, a minute, 3 minutes, 5 or 10 minutes. Sit in silence, in prayer, aware of the grief, the loss, the fear, the uncertainty you face in your own life. Join the disciples in their vigil on Holy Saturday.
When you’re done with the silence simply close with this, “God thank you for sitting with me in grief.” Amen.