April-May '10
On the Friday of Christ’s crucifixion a man named Joseph (along with Nicodemus) wrapped the dead Christ in linen and placed him in his tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary watched from a distance. The chief priests and the Pharisees prompted Pilate to place a guard at the tomb to make it secure. The despairing women went home in the evening and because the next day (Sabbath/Saturday) was a rest day when they did not work, they hastily prepared spices and perfumes in readiness to embalm the dead corpse at first light on the Sunday morning.
For good reason Good Friday and Easter Sunday take 'centre-stage' at our Easter celebrations. But what about the day in-between? What are we supposed to do on this Saturday, other than give the garden some attention, go shopping or get the eggs planted ready for the childrens’ annual Easter Treasure Hunt? Good Friday has passed. Easter Sunday awaits.
This day often feels like a void, no-mans land, just empty space. Have you ever been to a service on this day? If we were ever to hold a service on this Saturday I wonder what it would look like? Surely it would be the most opportune moment for the quietest service of the whole year. He has gone. His death has been confirmed to Pilate. The burial certifies it. It feels like the end of the story. We’ve commemorated his shameful end but are not quite able to rejoice in his glorious re-appearing.
Personally I wouldn’t feel much like singing 'Hallelujah! the Lord our God the Almighty reigns' or similar words of jubilant praise on this particular day. It is a day of suspense that bridges the gap between the worlds of death and life, darkness and light. I think I’d want to keep some lengthy silences in such a service. I might want to say a few words such as "Christ is dead. He has drunk the cup of mortality to its last, most hellish drop" or invite us to sing 'O sacred head, sore wounded, with grief and pain weighed down' (BPW 223). But not much more.
The early church used this Saturday as a day of fasting and preparation. It has also been named 'Holy Saturday' and 'the day of the entombed Christ' in some church traditions. Many churches that have a service on this day avoid celebrating the bread and wine of Communion/Mass to create in them a deep longing. They are left to wait, as mourners beside a grave, despairing, ill at ease, not knowing really what to do with themselves. In the Coptic, Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches they often hold a funeral service for Christ. I wonder what words they use to pay tribute to his life?
There's something else I might also want to include in a 'Holy Saturday' service, perhaps as a concluding reflection. It comes from 1 Peter 3: "He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built" (v18-20). This is a very difficult passage to understand and some interpret it as meaning that while Jesus was in Sheol (the abode of the dead) in-between Friday and Sunday he also proclaimed the victory of his death to evil spirits and demons who rebelled against God. Some scholars believe this took place after his resurrection, not before. Or did Christ preach "in spirit" through Noah as Noah built the ark? There are various theories.
Another debateable point is whether or not Christ literally descended into Hades (hell) between his death and resurrection. Many forms of the Apostles’ Creed (a confession of faith that took shape over 500 years, from 200AD to 750AD) include the line "he descended into hell …" but the earliest form does not include this belief and many scholars also believe the biblical evidence is flimsy.
Either way, we can say with assurance that between Good Friday and Easter Sunday Christ entered the realm of the dead. This was not a temporary state of unconsciousness. He was dead and buried and it most certainly required an act of God to raise him up again, and as a result we are Easter people! We believe Christ has taken the sting out of death so that, even though we shall all one day die, we shall still have the promise of everlasting life and the gift of his eternal presence to hold on to.
Saturday April 23rd 2011 – any plans?
Have a wonderful Easter,
Andy
