Silent Saturday. I don’t think I had heard the term before, but it is an apt one. Often referred to as Holy Saturday or Easter Vigil, the day caught between Good Friday and Easter Sunday doesn’t often get much attention. It is a neglected day in the Holy Week. The day where Jesus did not say anything. No teachings were taught. No parables were explained. God spoke on Friday and He certainly made a statement on Sunday, but nothing was said on Saturday. No, Silent Saturday does not get much attention. Maybe It should.
Being the Sabbath, Jesus’ followers would not have been extremely active on Saturday anyway, but in response to the events that had taken place since Thursday night and into Friday, they were numb. None were yet to understand the significance, or even the reality, of what they had witnessed. What they did understand is that everything they had grown accustomed to was changed forever. They sat, huddled together, in stunned silence and prayer, fearing for their own lives and praying desperately for understanding.
I think that many of us feel a sense of what they felt at that time. We have been feeling it for a while. Seeing images of empty streets and vacant parking lots, we are left to wonder what normal will be and when it will begin again… or if. I can imagine that, on that Saturday, most of Jesus’ followers wondered much the same. Were their own lives in danger? What would happen to the teachings they had become so attached to? What did Jesus mean when He said He would be gone for a little while and then return? What is “a little while” anyway? There were certainly more questions than answers.
With the sunrise on Sunday morning, and the official end of the Sabbath, the women went to formally prepare Jesus’ body for burial, but He was not there. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, and then to some disciples walking along th road, and then to the rest of the Apostles (except Thomas, but he got his chance later). He brought answers. He brought clarity. He brought hope.
Jesus did not just bring answers and clarity and hope for those who were following Him then. He brought those things for all of us… forever.
As I spent today contemplating my situation, and the situation in which we all find ourselves, I discovered (or realized) a couple of things that I thought I should pass along.
First, the things that I am most anxious about are not the most important. I don’t know what the future of my income looks like. I am not certain of our finances. I don’t know how we will pay for the things we need, if we can even get them. I do know, however, that my family is intact and safe. I know that there is a tomorrow, or next week, or next month, and that by this time next year we will have adjusted to whatever “normal” might be by then.
Second, as I watch the virus curve flatten out, I am more confident that this will end. It will change us in ways we can’t yet understand, but it will end. We may not yet know when it ends, but it will. Sadly, not everyone will survive, but most of us will. We will mourn. We will heal. We will be better than we were before. It will be compared to 9/11 and to Pearl Harbor. everything will be different, but it will also be the same.
Truth be told, I have been in this state of Silent Saturday since August (more on that later) and I have no idea when it will finally be over. I have an advantage over Jesus’ followers all those years ago… I know that Sunday is coming. There is a dark Friday and we have made it though that. We are all in the midst of Silent Saturday. Sunday is coming.
By the time most of you read this, Sunday’s sun will have risen. We will celebrate the Son’s rise a little differently, but we will celebrate. Our silent Saturday will still be going on. But Sunday is coming.
I have to acknowledge some sources of inspiration for me this week. Max Lucado, for his inspiring message on Good Friday and for the term Silent Saturday. John Maxwell and his Minute With Maxwell episodes this week in particular. John Krasinsky and his SGN (Some Good News) YouTube shows. All three have been inspiring and encouraging me this week. I hope I can pass it on and I hope you all find some sources of inspiration and encouragement as well.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay positive.
