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By Jeremy | March 26, 2005
This weekend can make a person reflective. Christians the world over commemorate Good Friday and celebrate Resurrection Sunday, but what about the day in between? Although it gets no play in our modern traditions, I've often wondered about the first "Holy Saturday."
I can't imagine the torrent of emotions -- fear, anger, grief, self-doubt -- that must have gripped the disciples. Or were they too numb to feel emotion? In either case, that Sabbath must have been the darkest day of their lives as the events from the previous 24-hours started to set in: "Could you not pray one hour?" Betrayal from one of their one. Arrest. Sham trial. Scourging. "King of the Jews." Thorns. Golgotha. Nails. Darkness. Earthquakes.
And what to make of the prior three years? These men had forsaken everything to follow Jesus. They had lived with him, ate with him, learned from him every day. Those years weren't supposed to end like this, in colossal defeat with all the world watching everything they believed in shatter. The shame.
But as painful as that Saturday must have been, the depth of their despair intensified the joy that came in the morning. I've come to appreciate the suffering of Friday and hopelessness of Saturday, because without them, we would never experience the joy and victory of Sunday.
It's convicting for me to consider this truth. For while there are areas of my life that I pray would experience resurrection, I do everything possible to avoid Good Friday and Holy Saturday. They're no fun, to be sure, but well worth the hassle in the end.
(For more on this theme, check out
Beyond Passion: Living a Crucified Life.)
Topics: Christ, cross, death, easter, life, loss, love, theology | 2 Comments »
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March 27th, 2005 at 9:13 pm
Good point. Holy Saturday represents the ‘in between’ the ‘no answered yet’, the ‘I wonder if” stages of our lives. We have many holy Saturday’s in the journey and as you point out Good Fridays…where a good thing dies. In our church we discussed how we want to celebrate holy week next year with moments for Maundry Thursday and Holy Saturday…two key time periods not thought of much because they are dark and sad but they represent the reality of the journey and give more meaning to the cross and the resurrection because they change everything.
March 29th, 2005 at 11:26 am
Thank you for this post about the cross. I’ve personally been challenged to reflect more on the cross in the past 2-3 years. In this arena, I think we as evangelicals could afford greater reflection on what the cross represents, not just how great the resurrection is. Your reflections were helpful on my own journey. Thanks.