Keeping Holy Saturday

This year my church is having Easter services on Saturday at 2:00 and 4:00.

Take that in.

SATURDAY

All caps may seem a little too dramatic, but Easter is not on Saturday.

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday is the day we remember and lament all that did not go as planned.  We set aside time to mourn the dreams we had that did not come true.

The week before Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with shouts of “Save Us!” from the crowd.  They had seen his miracles and were hoping he was the Messiah.  According to scripture they had a vision of what the Messiah would do.

Then on Good Friday their dreams died.

It seemed like everything was going in the right direction.  Then sin got in the way.

Jesus knew it was his mission to die for the sins of the world and asked for it not to happen, but it still did.

Saturday Came

Saturday came.  Confusion and grief must have set in.  Maybe denial or shock.  And to top it all off it was the Passover.  The time to celebrate God’s saving his people from the oppression of Egypt.

Many times I feel like the disciples.  In the middle of Saturday.  The hopes and dreams I had for my life didn't turn out.  I don't have an answer if it will ever turn out.

We live in Saturday.

I'm here to say take heart if you are living in Saturday.

Living in Saturday

I’m living in Saturday.

For me it is month after month getting my hopes up that we might be pregnant and finding out we are not.  It is the death of the family I imagined. It is not understanding why I was pregnant and why we do not have that child in our arms.

Your mind knows what your Saturday is.  I don't have to make a list of possibilities.  It is okay to grieve.  It's okay to admit that it didn't all turn out the way you wanted.

Yes.  Sunday is coming.  Yes, Jesus is resurrected.  Yes, he is with us now.  Yes we have the hope of Heaven and the resurrection in the Age to Come.

And Yes Saturday happened.

I encourage you this Holy Saturday to reflect and lament.  Don’t move past the reality of the pain of disappointment and the very real sting of death.

Don't move on to Sunday before it's time.