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| Image by Nathaline |
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A GREETING
I yearn for your salvation, O God!
(Genesis 49:18)
A READING
When evening fell, a wealthy man from Arimathea named Joseph, who had become a disciple of Jesus, came to request the body of Jesus; Pilate issued an order for its release. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in fresh linen and laid it in his own tomb, which had been hewn out of rock. Then Joseph rolled a huge stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. But Mary of Magdala and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
(Matthew 27:57-61)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Just as each of us has one body with many members—and these members don’t have the same function— so all of us, in union with Christ, form one body. And as members of that one body, we belong to each other.
(Romans 12:4-5)
A REFLECTION
There was deep rest around the grave of Jesus. On the seventh day of the week of our redemption, when Jesus had fulfilled all he was sent by his Father to do, he rested in the tomb, and the women whose hearts were broken with grief rested with him. Of all the days in history, Holy Saturday -- the Saturday during which the body of Jesus lay in the tomb in silence and darkness behind the large stone that was rolled against its entrance -- is the day of God's solitude. The word of God through whom all has been made lies buried in the darkness of the earth. This Holy Saturday is the most quiet of all days... This divine silence is the most fruitful silence that the world has ever known. From this silence, the word will be spoken again and make all things new.
- by Henri Nouwen, found in A Triduum Sourcebook 1
compiled by Joan Halmo and Frank Henderson
VERSE OF THE DAY
Your love must be sincere.
(Romans 12:9a)
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| "The Entombment of Christ," by Caravaggio (1603-4) The painting shows a vertical descent of people holding and/or weeping over Jesus from top right to bottom left. Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea (scholars debate) is in the foreground holding the legs and looking out at us. The beloved disciple is at the other end of the body. The right hand of Jesus comes astride the stone slab he will lie on, while behind and above him, the arms of a woman (identified as Mary of Clopas) rise up in the air, thus forming a line connecting earth and heaven. One hand of Mary the mother of Jesus hovers out over his body to bless him, while a weeping figure (Mary Magdalene) has her head bowed. The red and white fabric form a cross around the body of Jesus, symbolizing perhaps his human blood and divine nature. The scene is intimate and natural, among very human figures, whose bodies are so entwined with the body of Jesus that they appear almost as one. |
On Saturday, those who have loved and followed Jesus grieve him, and some of them attend to his body. In all three synoptic gospel accounts, the person who bargains with Pilate to get the body of Jesus is Joseph of Arimathea. It is only in the John account that Nicodemus is introduced into that scene. In all three synoptic gospel accounts, the women are not a part of taking down the body from the cross and laying it in a tomb. But in Matthew and Mark, they observe from afar. Yet, the art depicting this moment has down through the centuries unmistakably seen the women as present throughout all of the events.
While Good Friday is a day of shock, violence and horror, Saturday is the day of deep grieving. There might be some reflecting on whether they got it right about who Jesus was: the long awaited messiah. On this day, the world is colder and darker, and given to as much fear as death. The disciples are at this point scattered.
Holy Saturday is that sacred threshold time, when the world's orientation has been shattered and there is nothing to take its place. Holy Saturday holds all of the waiting weight of the world. Those who wait for justice, those in refugee camps, people who are detained, those who are being interrogated, those who await a diagnosis, those who are companions to the dying, those who are deeply lonely, those who fear what the next day will bring in war-torn lands. All of these live in Holy Saturday.
Christ has no body now but yours. In the grief soaked silence of this day, what are the flickers of transformation waiting to be born in our hearts and actions? How will you be Christ's body today?
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| Image by Bernd Thaller |
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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
For those who may wish to pursue an imagined narrative of the events of Holy Week as told through the eyes of Mary Magdalene, this blog was created in 2009 by Deacon Sherry and then republished in 2020.
Palm Sunday.
Holy Monday.
Holy Tuesday.
Holy Wednesday.
Maundy Thursday.
Good Friday.
Holy Saturday. (One more day tomorrow.)
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LC† From Dust, Still Holy is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!