Holy Week Saturday: Buried in the Grave

Today is the Saturday between Good Friday (Jesus' death) and Easter Sunday (Jesus' resurrection).  In my upbringing in the church, there was never a formal name for this day.  I know that in some Catholic traditions it is referred to as Easter Vigil.  This is a day of waiting.  A day right after a huge wave of sorrow and loss.  A day of stillness and quiet.  The opening line to Buried in the Grave says it well:

There was a day we held our breath

and felt the sting of bitter death

When all our hopes were buried in the grave

That is what this Saturday must have felt like so many years ago.  Jesus' family, friends and followers were holding their breath.  They were still sorting through emotions and feelings.  It was probably still hard to fathom that Jesus was really gone.  

The song goes on to say this:

All we had, all we had

was a promise like a thread

holding us, keeping us from fraying at the edge

Jesus tells his disciples that He will overcome death.  He foresees his death, and his resurrection.  Luke 18:31-34 shares that prediction and promise.  Jesus gave that promise to His people, that He would fulfill the prophecies, and in doing so, fulfill God's will.  It was a promise.  Promises are often given simply through words, and they can seem as fragile as a thread.  Believing in promises takes faith.  Maybe a good name for this Saturday would be Faithful Saturday.  We were waiting, standing on the promises, standing on the faith, holding on to what we could no longer touch.  

The song also gives this idea - there was grace in the tension.  There have been times when in the midst of struggle and frustration, I have experienced an unexpected peace.  I don't see it coming and I don't know how to explain it.  But it washes over me, overwhelms me.  It reminds me that I am not capable of calming the storm, God is - and He knows just when to do so.  I think that is God's grace overwhelming our tension.  He continues to calm storms from a place on high.  I can imagine that on this day long ago, there was tension - a painful tension.  But because of the promise that Jesus had left, there was grace present there too.  Even if they didn't feel it overwhelm them, it was there.

So we wait.  We could also call this Waiting Saturday.  We will wait sustained by the promises and the grace - which we may not realize are there, but they cover us nonetheless.  

~SP