The Long Saturday

For many years, the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday has summoned the most thought and reflection from me. An old Caedmon’s Call song describes it as “the long Saturday between Your death and the rising day, when no one wrote a word and wondered ‘Is this the end?'” I find myself wondering how Jesus’ friends felt on this day all those years ago. They knew what He said was supposed to happen, but now they were depending on their faith to guide their feelings. I imagine this wasn’t easy for them, since Jesus was always having to remind them of Who He was even when He was walking and talking with them and working miracles before their eyes. Now that Jesus’ body was no longer present, I feel certain that Thomas was not the only one with doubts.

I have only had to face the death of a loved one a few times in my life so far. With each one of these, I have responded in similar ways. When I first learn of the death, my emotions seem to freeze. I guess I go into “crisis mode”–looking at what needs to be done, who needs to be helped, what arrangements need to be made, etc. Even during the funeral and burial, I feel as if I am holding my breath. It’s not that I am trying not to mourn; it’s almost like I just can’t…until later.

Inevitably I always feel the greatest sense of loss the day after a burial. All the family and friends have dispersed, and the body now lies alone beneath the dirt. I know, I know that the person’s soul–his or her true being–is not in the coffin. It is merely an empty shell. But that shell is what I have always looked at and identified as the person who is now gone.

So that’s what I think about on this Saturday each year. I think about how sad Jesus’ friends must have been, about the tremendous sense of pain and loss they were experiencing, and about their fear that this really might have been the end.

They didn’t get to experience Easter weekend the way that we do now. They didn’t know that Sunday would be a day of great rejoicing that our Savior is risen! So I guess that’s what draws me into this “in between” day that we don’t really recognize. It’s a day of contemplation for me.

When my kids were little, our family watched a video portrayal of Jesus’ life. On Good Friday, we watched from Judas’ acceptance of the 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus until the ascent of Christ into Heaven after His resurrection. The kids had many questions, but the one that stuck with me the most was from four-year-old Katie. She kept asking, “Where is Jesus?” And I couldn’t help thinking that this same question was on everyone’s minds on that long Saturday… Where is Jesus? and Will we see Him again?

Praise God that they DID see their Savior again! He has risen, just as He said! We no longer have to mourn. We no longer have to fear that this is the end. We are confident that He is alive and will never again have to be put to death!

My prayer for you this Easter weekend is that you will know, believe, and trust in The Living God. And I pray that everything you experience this weekend–no matter how beautiful and wonderful or how ugly and difficult–will draw you closer to Jesus.