The Silence In-Between

We have a tendency to want to jump straight from Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday.

We don't know what to do with Saturday.

We don't like Saturday.

Saturday is a day of silence. Of misunderstanding. Of confusion. Of doubt.

Even Scripture doesn't tell us anything about Saturday. Good Friday ends with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus placing Jesus' body in a tomb (John 19:38-42). And then moves right into the account of the women coming to the tomb on Sunday and finding it empty (John 20:1-18).

Friday's despair becomes Sunday's celebration.

But, what about Saturday?

The silence doesn't mean that God wasn't still working out His plan that day. But, for Jesus' followers, the day wouldn't have been easy. Nothing was going the way they thought it should.

Confusion. Pain. Despair. Grief.

The companions of the day for many.

It's uncomfortable to sit in Saturday. So, we try to rush past it. Get through it as quickly as possible.

Bu, even though Scripture doesn't tell us explicitly of the actions of Jesus' followers on that day, we still know they walked through it. 

Saturday was the Sabbath. A day of rest. A day where they could do nothing but sit and wait and question what had happened. They had to wait until Sunday before they could do anything again.

Truthfully, Saturday is a place we often live in our everyday lives. We walk through times of pain and confusion. We have seasons when God seems silent and we wonder if He's paying attention to what's happening in our lives.

In John 20, we say what could maybe be a glimpse of what Jesus' followers did with their Saturday. Verse 19 says, "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together . . ." 

The disciples were used to being together, eating together, doing life together. They continued to be together. They shared their experience. Instead of being alone in their confusion, pain, and grief, they were together.

So, what do we do with Saturday?

How do we handle the pain and confusion of the silence that seems to fall?

We hold to the truth that God is still working, even though we can't see it. And we hold to each other. We don't attempt tp get through it alone.

When You Realize You've Almost Missed It

We're halfway through Holy Week.

I was reminded of that on a video chat this morning. Even though I knew it and the dates marked on my calendar told me that is was Holy Week, something hadn't really connected about it for me this time.

Usually this is a week where I take time to intentionally reflect on all the happened in this week. To try to enter in to what Scripture says about this week. To thank Jesus for He did on my behalf.

And, yet, I realized today I hadn't even really considered it at all so far. Palm Sunday had come and gone, and Good Friday was approaching, and then Resurrection Sunday. Such important days on the Christian calendar to remember and celebrate.

But, this year doesn't feel much like other years. There's no plans for big crowds to gather on Sunday to celebrate. Big family gatherings aren't happening. Even the events our larger society associates with Easter, like community Easter egg hunts, have been cancelled.

As I drove home from work today (yes, I work for an organization that cannot just close, even at a time like this), a song came on my music player that I hadn't heard for a long time. As I listened to and then put on repeat and began to sing the song, I realized that even though Holy Week and Easter look so much different that the traditions I've become used to at this time of year, it doesn't change the significance of what we remember and celebrate.

That song and those minutes in my car became a worship time . . . and a reset for me. No matter what the circumstances are right now, this is when we intentionally remember and celebrate what our Savoir has done for us.

For me, Holy Week feels a bit short this year now. But, I'm still going to be intentional about the days left. No beating myself up for what I feel like I missed. Just taking the time I have left in this week to remember the sacrifice of my Savior and His victory over the grave.

As I close, I want to leave you with the song that spoke to me today. Blessed Redeemer by Casting Crowns. I love the chorus of this song:
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Receiving from God in Honest Prayer

The week leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday always brings me back to familiar passages of Scripture. Even in their familiarity there often seems to be something that I notice again - that challenges me.

I was reading in Luke 22:39-46, where Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was in anguish. Jesus' prayer in this passage was honest. He didn't shy away from expressing what He was really feeling.

I was struck by verse 43 as I read. It says:

"An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him."

I don't know if I've really paid attention to this verse before.

In the middle of His honest prayer, as Jesus was pouring out how He really felt to the Father, God sent an angel to comfort and strengthen Jesus. We can't know of that would have happened regardless. But, I think it's significant that it happened in the midst of His prayer.

It is when we cry out to God in our struggles that He meets us in that. And we experience His comfort and strengthening. When we admit our need, we're in a place of being open to that.

When we're busy acting like we have it all together, even if we don't, we're not in a position to receive anything from God. We likely don't even see the offer of it, because we're so busy maintaining our facade. But, if we're willing to admit and express our need to God, we get the privilege of experiencing His comfort and strengthening for what we're going through.

Are you honest with God in your prayers? 

Are you open to receiving comfort and strengthening from God for whatever you're facing?

Don't Race Ahead

What would it have been like for Jesus' disciples to through the Passover meal, His arrest and crucifixion?

We approach it knowing the end and I wonder if we sometimes miss some of what they must have felt. Some of their confusion and the pain and shock of it all. We miss it because we want to hurry past what's uncomfortable for us.

Looking back, it's easy to see how it all fits together. History allows us to see the whole picture. But, the disciples didn't have that advantage. They had prophecy of the coming Messiah, but they didn't understand how it was all going to work.

Some of Jesus' words would have been shocking to hear in those moments . . .
          . . . one of them would betray Him.
          . . . Peter would deny knowing Him three times.
Yes, we can see that these things did happen.

Some of Jesus' words would have been confusing . . .
          . . . breaking the bread and telling them to eat it because it was His body.
          . . . talking about His blood being poured out for many.
We see the symbolism in this and have Paul's explanations to help us understand.

And what of the pain and sorrow of seeing Jesus beaten and crucified. Their friend. Their teacher. The One for Whom they had given up everything to follow for the last three years.
          Beaten.
               Crucified.
                     Dead.
                          Buried in a borrowed tomb.

But, I also wonder if their excitement at Jesus' resurrection wasn't somehow more because of it all. If their joy wasn't deeper because they experienced the depths of the sorrow and pain they did. If there was something important borne in them out of sitting in that in-between time.

Because we know the end of the story - we know what's coming - I wonder if we too easily race ahead to the resurrection. We want to get to the hope and the joy, so we hurry past Good Friday and the uncomfortableness of it all. But, in doing so, I think we miss out on the depths of the joy of the resurrection.

We call if Good Friday for a reason. Maybe we need to stop and being willing to sit where it's sometimes uncomfortable, because in the middle of that pain and sorrow God was doing the most amazing thing in all of history. And when we really stop to remember the cost, we celebrate the victory of the resurrection in a way we never could have otherwise.

A Life Changing Event

Tomorrow is Good Friday. One of the most important days of the year for Christians. You could day that Resurrection Sunday is the most important day and I don't think I would argue with you. But, that Sunday isn't important without Good Friday.

The cross is where Jesus paid the price for our sins. The day when the penalty for everything wrong we have ever done and ever will do was paid for. By the only person who had ever lived a life that "qualified" Him to pay that price.

It seems like every year when this holiday comes around I find myself reflecting on the significance of it all. This was a world-changing event.

An event that can change our lives if we choose to accept what is offered to us.

It causes me to pause and wonder . . .

Have I allowed what God did on that day to change my life?

Have I allowed it to change me on an ongoing basis? Or have I stopped allowing it to change me - to make me more like Jesus?

What about you? Have you allowed God to change your life because of this day? Are you doing so on a daily basis? Or was it a one time thing?