In The Quietness We Find Peace …Hello Weekend Readers. I’ve sent 3 devotions in a row now. Why? I just felt that in this Holy Week we need to remember what it’s really all about. And today is about quietness.

The story of the crucifixion and resurrection is so familiar that we tend to jump too quickly into the resurrection, simplifying the tension and impact of the story and reducing the weight of Friday’s crucifixion. Then comes Holy Saturday. What meaning does it hold for us? Let’s dive in about this ‘quiet day’…

We don’t pay much attention to Holy Saturday, perhaps because we think that nothing happened on that day—that assumption is dead-wrong! Matthew 27:62-66 [MSG] says to us: After sundown, the high priests and Pharisees arranged a meeting with Pilate. They said, “Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will be raised.’ We’ve got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There’s a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, ‘He’s risen from the dead.’ Then we’ll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first.” Pilate told them, “You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can.” So, they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards.

The fact that Jesus was lying still in the tomb on Holy Saturday should mean a great deal to us. He is dead and Pilate’s minions were afraid so the tomb was secured with a huge stone with posted guards. But let’s remember this: When Jesus was buried in the tomb, the disciples’ spirits sank to their lowest point. The tomb symbolized death, grief and despair. They no longer had Jesus with them! They must have felt that they had lost the most important pillar of their lives; there was no more direction or meaning. In short, their dreams had been shattered. They forgot that Jesus was coming through death and darkness for them. He had descended to death and triumphed, and followers of Jesus Christ would never have to enter there! Often our fears and grief forget the good parts Jesus tells us.

When we feel disappointment, or despair, or a loss of direction, or even not feeling Jesus’ presence, we may think that Jesus has left our world. We need to know that even in the tomb, Jesus never left His disciples. One theologian, Alan Lewis, calls Holy Saturday the buffer and boundary between Friday’s Passion and Sunday’s Resurrection. Holy Saturday provides a buffer and a boundary between the two, allowing us to slow down and not jump too quickly from the agony and death of the cross to the resurrection. It’s a day for silence, fasting and prayer, a day to quietly identify with the buried Jesus, to realize all that Jesus has done for us and to prepare us to embrace the joy of resurrection! Hang on, the Hallelujahs are coming! Amen.