Holy Saturday

A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. (John 16:16-20 ESV).

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s devotionals reading them as much as I have writing them. It has been good looking at some of the things of this pivotal week in our faith. I have attempted to look at each day with a different approach than I might have had in the past. After so many years writing, this task gets to be more difficult than you might imagine. However, today we come to Holy Saturday. For some churches, today might be a day of events; there may be a Easter Egg Hunt for the children, or community fellowships celebrating the hopeful anticipation of the Resurrection. For many it is a day of waiting in silence, knowing that tomorrow brings great joy. That’s not the emotion the disciples and followers of Jesus expressed on the day after their leader, teacher, and friend was executed. Only four verses in the whole Bible give us a picture of what happened on Saturday. In Matthew 27:62-66, we read that the religious leaders of the time went to Pilate on the Sabbath (Saturday) to ensure Jesus’ tomb had extra guard and protection. Ironically, the same people who crucified Jesus are breaking the Sabbath by traveling and working on that day. What the religious leaders don’t know is that the disciples aren’t plotting a way to steal Jesus’ body, but instead mourning in the silence and unanswered prayers of that Saturday. Jesus is still dead. He’s still in the grave. They are probably terrified that they are next; that the mere association with Jesus will lead to their crucifixion. They’re grieving the loss of a friend and teacher. They’re humiliated they really believed that he was the Messiah–the savior of the world. Doubt creeps in. The disciples must have forgotten about a conversation Jesus had with them just a couple days earlier. In our reading today, Jesus takes time to warn them about the grief, disappointment, doubt, and silence they would encounter during the days to come. Jesus is talking about his death-about the darkest day the disciples will ever experience. He knows they will be met with silence. But he’s asking them to wait. To hold on to the hope he offers them-the hope that lies beyond the pain and grief and doubt. That’s comforting for me. We’re not alone in not fully understanding God’s silence. But despite the silence, Jesus promises that joy is coming. In our times of pain, grief, misunderstanding, and confusion, we can hold on to this promise-one that Jesus gave his disciples some 2000 years ago: joy is coming. It is a joy that no one can take away. It brings me to the refrain of tomorrow: He is risen. He is risen indeed!