It’s Saturday. Christ is in the tomb. We need to talk about what we’re going to do.
Last Easter, the significance of Saturday hit me harder than ever before. Think about it. We have Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but Saturday has no name. It’s just this big black hole. Maybe we should call it Black Saturday.
On a typical Easter weekend, we normally don’t celebrate anything on Saturday. There are Good Friday services, and, of course, Easter Sunday celebrations, but what about Saturday? Saturday is a very significant day. You have to go through it to get to Easter Sunday, and though it seems like just a day to pass through for us, imagine what it must have been like for those who were following Christ — who had placed their hope in Him for a new order — and especially for the twelve who had forsaken everything to follow Jesus.
For them, it wasn’t just a day to pass through to get to Easter Sunday; it was the end — the bitter end of everything. For them, there was no Easter Sunday, and there certainly wasn’t anything good about Friday.
From what we know in the gospel accounts, there wasn’t anyone of Christ’s followers saying, “Hey, wait a minute you guys. Didn’t He say something about rising again on the third day? Remember He said, ‘Destroy the temple and in three days I will build it back up’? What if He was talking about Himself there? Don’t you think we should just wait and see what happens tomorrow?”
We might be able to imagine someone saying that, but in the record, no one did, so for all we know, that was that. Saturday was just another day like all those other days before Jesus showed up. Back to life the way it was. Back to no more miracles. Back to where we were, only now we’ve just lost three years. They were good years, and we learned a lot, but they are gone now.
I think we need to spend some time reflecting on Saturday. Maybe we should even have Black Saturday services. If anything, we need to identify with those who have no hope in life. “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).
We need to see the dark side of this so we can better appreciate the brightness of what we have. We have a most incredible hope.
The reality of the resurrection came upon His followers gradually. Even those who saw the stone rolled away were not fully convinced right away. And what about Mary, who actually talked with Jesus briefly, thinking He was the gardener, until He spoke her name. Was she just imagining things?
We need to reflect on that black Saturday. Are we living as if Jesus were still in the tomb? Where is our hope? Are we counting only on ourselves and our tangible, human resources? If we’re not counting on the risen Christ, we haven’t even made it through the weekend.
Amen: “…but Sunday’s comin’!!! Praise God Jesus’ tomb is empty! And it makes this ‘black Saturday’ soooo much more bearable.. 🙂
Go to any Catholic Church and you can celebrate Holy Saturday or the Easter Vigil. You don’t have to wait until Easter Sunday if you want to worship Our Lord and Savior!
The author is is wrong about the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. He says that the Saturday has no name. Actually in many Christian religions it is known as Holy Saturday. It is also known as “the Saturday of Light.” It commemorates Christ’s descension into Hell (known as the Harrowing of Hell). the time where he goes to the realm of the dead to bring salvation to all the righteous who had died since the beginning of time.
In my own way, I throw some of the tradition aside when it comes to Easter weekend:
I lean toward the belief that Jesus was actually crucified on either Wednesday (at the earliest) or Thursday (at the latest) based on His statement that, like Jonah’s time inside the belly of the fish, the Son of Man would spend (specifically) three days AND three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40); Also, as written in John 19:31, it happened to be the year of a “special Sabbath” which meant a calendrical convergence of both Sabbath and Passover which, in turn, meant certain duties for preparation had to be tended to earlier in the week than just the regular responsibilities come each normal Friday before sunset.
Regardless, what about that time period between Jesus breathing His last breath and His egression from the grave? For those above ground back then, it was no doubt a very, very gloomy and foreboding period.
But wasn’t Jesus in the process of setting captive souls free from the chains of death in Hell?
While the time between Crucifixion and Resurrection may appear (to those on earth) dark and necessarily solemn, perhaps the souls He rescued from Hell are partying in Heaven right now and celebrating “Freedom Forever Friday” or “Son-shine Saturday” or “Light in the darkness Day” or some such thing?!
Friday and Saturday of Passion week always struck me as a “Twilight Zone” sort of period:
“…the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.”
That murky moment of History was and is and always will be “a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity” – the most significant period of time in the eternity of humankind.
“…blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
Shalom…
Got the tell u brother bobnearseattle (and i that doesn’t bother you, me calling u brother, if it does plz tell me know, OK) anyway like to tell you i find a lot delight in reading your post – such as; “..lean toward the belief that Jesus was actually crucified on either Wednesday (at the earliest) or Thursday (at the latest) based on His statement that, like Jonah’s time inside the belly of the fish, the Son of Man would spend (specifically) three days AND three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40);”
Amen, I’ve though of that a few times and even had a Bible Study on it once…
God bless everyone and Happy Easter…
PS the conclusion of that study: The Apostle Paul wrote somewhere days, or the Holy days are no-longer kept by ‘us’ New Testament believers…So what does it really matter what day He died – On Sunday He Rose! Praise God! Also Steve Brownlee thx 4 the information in regards to Saturday’s, appreciate it…
Please, Mark, feel free to call me brother or bro or friend or whatever rolls off your tongue or through your keyboard. I am truly honored – thanks! 🙂
I don’t know who wrote this, but it’s really well done & perfect for Saturday….. –SueB
The Space Between
The space between Sunday and Friday
Is more than I grasp, more than I can say
What started on a high note has turned into an awful week
Let me share the story of how it got this bleak
It all began on Sunday as Jesus came riding into town
For just the chance to see him, people gathered from all around
“Hosanna” they shouted, “Won’t you be our king?”
“We’ll put a crown upon your head and on your finger, a ring”
As Sunday turned to Friday, all joy began to disappear
The celebration ended, replaced by doubt and fear
Walking through that week and all that did unfold
The air, like my heart, grew heavy and cold
For 30 pieces of silver he was betrayed by a good friend
Then Peter said he didn’t know him, or so he did pretend
They hurled baseless accusations in that sham of a trial
Still he did not defend himself, not even a denial
Pilate was gonna set him free, but he gave into the crowd
He was gonna let him walk, but that’s when they got really loud
His enemies riled the crowd ‘til all you could hear was “Crucify!”
So he was beaten, bruised, spat upon and hung on a cross to die
As he breathed his final breath, he cried out “It is done”
That’s when darkness covered the land, swallowing the sun
The One who at creation declared “Let there be light”
Died a violent death and was buried on that scandalous night
For years I had followed him wherever he went
Never could I have foreseen this dramatic turn of events
My God, my King, my Jesus was laid in a grave
The hopes and fears of all the years… Buried with him in that cave
The space between Sunday and Friday
Is more than I grasp, more than I can say
Sunday’s triumphant parade of victory
Has given way to Friday’s agony
His friends all forsook him, they all began to flee
I ran too, so that list includes me
Our once-so-close knit group has been all strewn and scattered
After three years of following him, I wonder if any of it mattered
The space between Friday and Sunday is a terrible place
It’s an ugly, dark and unjust land of fear and disgrace
The brokenness and the dread, the heartache and the pain
Here I stand all alone, my faith has begun to wane
Someone once called this the dark night of the soul
If only someone could come and make my aching heart whole
Jesus is the only one who could do that, but alas, he is dead
Trapped in that gloomy moment, I hold on to something he once said
He made a curious comment: “Three days and I will rise”
If that is true, my friends, I must see it with my own eyes
I count the days till Sunday, I long for it to come
If Jesus does rise, a mighty victory’s been won
Caught between the grave and resurrection, between death and life
I want to believe, but in this place I’m torn between hope and strife
Right here, right now, that coming victory hardly can be seen
So until Sunday I’ll wait, in the space between
This is awesome. And yes, when you think about it, it just leaves you with a suffocating feeling. That same feeling you have the day after a parent or close friend or sibling has died. Except in the disciples case, they also had that added level of danger. They were nearly fugitives in all of this, I would expect. Just an unimaginable, sad, scary period. I might try to go check out a Catholic service on Holy Saturday next year.
Completely agree: “…it’s really well done & perfect for Saturday….. –SueB” and thank-you for posting it.
I loved your Catch on “Black Saturday”
Thought you might be interested to know, there’s a christian community in the Seattle area, that has been doing a “Blue(s) Saturday” worship the last 20 years. It’s nothing big or impressive, usually less than a hundred show up. We are doing it in a bar tonight called “Luther’s Table” we will reflect a while on the “in between” time, the since of loss, the search for faith, the anticipation that hope brings. We will play some blues (I’ll be on drums), we will break bread, and have a pint of whatever. The point is, not move to quickly to the bright morning of the empty tomb. But to live a while in the darkness, and wait for the dawn. And to do it together.
Thanks again for this catch, I will probably share it tonight.
tom
Hey Tom – that is so cool!
If you don’t mind sharing: where in Seattle do you normally meet? (We’re a little north of town.)
This sounds like a community with whom my wife and I might like to ‘break bread and pass the pint” – also, love them blues! 🙂
Would like to visit tonight but we’re in the process of preparing our feast….
Of course, for the original disciples, from Friday evening to Saturday evening, it was merely the Sabbath, a day of rest and regeneration. They probably cried themselves to sleep and spent the day in a numb stupor.