Today is Good Friday and most of Christendom is focused on the primary reason that Christianity is their highest of holy days. This is the time we remember the so-called tragedy of the crucifixion and the glorious triumph of life over death on Easter. But as the world is hidden behind closed doors in an effort to prevent the very real possibility of being infected with a Corona Virus known as COVID-19, there is something more to consider.
This weekend reminds us of a time that was filled with uncertainty for the Apostles. A time when they and we are unable to see beyond the now and wonder aloud “what next”? As Christians, the people of faith are predisposed at this time to gather together and celebrate the promise of embodying what the theologian Maya Angelou wrote, “Still I Rise”. That is because we have the blessing of hindsight. To be sure we are, as a human race, experiencing in one way or another, the extreme uncertainty that the Apostles experienced. But they had no such blessing of hindsight and were afraid. For them, and for us….it is Saturday…
The Apostles had falteringly but faithfully followed the very Son of God. They listened and recorded His words. They sat at His feet excitedly to hear the next lesson. They followed the ministry of Jesus for almost three full years. Then suddenly, but not unexpectedly, their focus for a very present inspiration and guidance in a very uncertain and dark world…. They watched Him become what (to the world seemed to be) yet another victim of the Roman version of corporal punishment. The very object of the Apostles affection was hung from a cross by nails and before His life could be taken from Him by the soldiers, He literally gave up the ghost… and died. (Mathew 19:30-34).
The reality is death has no power over the grave because of the unfathomable gift of life as given by Jesus The Christ. But to get there, we have the example of Jesus to show that there is something important that prepares us during the in-between time of our own Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
On Friday, Jesus offered up His very life for each of us. On Sunday, He rose with all power in the very palm of His hands. So it may be in your mind now… What did He do on Saturday? What could the very Son of God do during the in-between time of the prophesied sacrifice and the promised resurrection? What could possibly happen between the indisputable death of God incarnate and the equally indisputable rising of the same on the 3rd day?
The real question is what will WE do during that in-between time? What will we as believers do on our own Saturdays? What could we do that will assure that on our third day, the communities we live in will see the Love and Passion of Christ in us?
I say to you that on Saturday, we are no less or more Christians than on any other day. Our Savior did not teach and preach live and die so that we would sit idle waiting for the next shoe to drop. No. Our calling is to actively prepare for the many who do not yet know His name. Our calling is to gather our strength, mount up with wings, and study His Word so that we may be the Church He called us to be. Christians around the world know that Jesus sacrificed Himself for every sin that ever was and would be. That was His calling. Ours is to exact the Great Commission (Mark 16:15 and Matthew 28:19-20). But we were not commanded to go out unlearned in who He is. This is a time for us as we are under quarantine by a virus that we cannot see, (but experience its effects nonetheless) to consider that it is not religion that God desires of us. Rather relationship. Relationship….
Relationship does not come by an occasional check-in but by regular and sometimes unquenchable passion to be present with one another. The Word of God and the gathering of those who believe is the most assured way to build such a relationship with Jesus the Christ. So other than the Great Commission, why would we want such a relationship? I would submit because relationship with anyone and anything we experience, as we yet live on earth is good (Genesis 2:18), but is temporary. I would submit for your consideration that once you understand the value of a Friend with a capital F, you would then desire that Friendship to never end and last unto eternity. For such a relationship to develop, we are given the gift of Saturday. Saturday is where we see life without the intimate presence of Jesus and we must seek Him through His Word. This is not unusual because when we are not with our own worldly friends, do we not sometimes scroll through their internet posts and text messages? Do we not re-read the words our friends shared with us and with others seeking a deeper understanding of who they are to us? How much more would we gain in our hearts if we would do the same on Saturday? If we were to read the text messages of Christ as written in the Holy Bible, would we not see something we may not have seen the first time we read the Words?
I implore you to look forward to Saturday. Not with dread, but with expectation to learn and see something new in Jesus. Gain new insight that will give us enough hope to warm our hearts to carry us into Easter Sunday. I say to you now that on some Sunday yet to come, your stone will also roll, and you will be able to leave your cell too. No cell, or tomb, or place in which you reside will hold you forever. This is not your home but where you reside for the some-while until the day that your stone rolls away. You too will witness the glory of God and gaze upon His glorious face. I ask you to take this time, this Saturday, to better understand who The Savior and best Friend Jesus is to you. All of our lives, others have told you who God is and who Jesus is. Please do not take their word for it any longer. Oh, my friends, on this Saturday, taste and see for yourself.
The Uneducated Deacon 