Meditation Moment in Holy Week ~ Saturday '23

John 19:38-42:

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Jesus, our Holy Redeemer,
         On this Saturday, the silence of the Tomb engulfs the followers of Jesus. They are still and hear only the beating of their sorrowful hearts. The night before was long and dark and cold, and painful in heart, mind, and soul.

         For anyone waking to a stunning loss, the day after is confusing as first light offers a nano-moment of forgetting. Then as sudden as the loss, the reality hits the psyche again as a lightning strike that penetrates deeply and burns hot. In their time, the followers of Jesus would still be in shock, knowingly and futilely grasping at any hole in the truth that what they witnessed yesterday didn't happen. 

        Be with us, Lord, as yesterday and the day before, we had the opportunity to hear or read again the Gospel accounts of the last days of Your human life. Help us, on this quiet day after to relate to the grief of those who knew and loved You in that time. Embrace us in the mercy of Your redemption to answer Your call to return our souls to You, to know and love You by being Your disciples in our time. 

        Even as we know the story of what tomorrow will bring, let us go through this day and this night as if we don't. May we awaken to all the  joy, jubilance, and Faith-filling experience that Easter offers every day of our human lives. amen. 

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