Today is my favorite Christian holiday because it is, in essence, a day of waiting. It doesn’t have a weird and confusing name like Maundy Thursday, or the commercial clout of Easter and Christmas. It’s so much like the rest of life, just another day.
With so much possibility in it, and so much promise.
We never know quite what God has planned, but this silent Saturday teaches us to look for it with expectation.
God could have raised Christ today. He didn’t. He gave live a moment to breathe. With full intent and purpose, He left people with a day of grief and fear, and in doing so taught us that grief and fear are a passing condition.
I imagine the disciples hidden away, talking quietly behind locked doors. Exhausted, worried, confused. Betrayed. I imagine the rest of the small Christian church scattered and feeling lost. Hurting and frightened. Clinging to the words of Christ and their faith. Nowadays we throw around catchy slogans, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!” They didn’t know that Sunday wouldn’t bring their own arrest, torture, or death.
And God made them wait. He knew what was going to happen, and He let them sit for a day and…trust in the prophecy.
