Tag Archives: Silent Saturday

Silent Saturday

April 20, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. –John 20:1-10

I am writing this on Good Friday, which this year is the 24th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. I listened to the morning news that covered a report regarding the 20th anniversary of the Columbine School shooting which is tomorrow followed by special local coverage of the speeches from the Oklahoma City memorial—all heart felt, some so close to the event that the 24 years melted away. While I recognize the importance of such remembrances, I am past ready for the creation of any more. I have been to Dachau and read the words “Never Again.”

I tried to imagine how Mary Magdalene felt when she arrived at Jesus’ tomb and found it empty—neatly empty. No broken stones are described, no wadded mess of linen on the floor, just emptiness. I remember the fervent search for bodies after the bombing, how important it was for those first responders to find all the people believed to be in the building. How important it was for families and friends to know what happened to them. It was just as important for Mary Magdalene to care for the body of Jesus.

Good Friday was so labeled because the death of Jesus marked the beginning of a new focus for the people of God. Out of great loss and grief a new commitment to living as God envisioned for God’s creation was birthed. Holy Week reminds us of our need to recommit our lives to that vision of peace and love where mass murders and school shootings and holocausts are no longer the norm but ancient history.

On what some call Silent Saturday as Jesus was thought to be lying in a tomb, the beginning of this renewed commitment was quietly moving forward. Let us prepare ourselves anew for the revolution of resurrection coming first witnessed by Mary Magdalene.

Prayer: Holy One, grant us the peace that passes understanding today as we place our hope in your resurrection. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Commune with God

Silent Saturday
March 31, 2018

 Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her. –John 20:11-18

Just before I left for college, the wife of the minister at my church handed me a copy of the song Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus and told me to remember its advice when any dark moments came. I still take this advice today.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace*.

Reportedly based on Hebrews 12:2, I thought of this hymn immediately when I read the above scripture. Until the person Mary encountered called her by name, she had not realized that he was Jesus, now the risen Lord. Grief is blinding at times. We cannot see through our shock and tears. Our full attention is internalized and will remain there until we decide ourselves to seek that which is outside ourselves. The wisdom of my Pastor’s wife was introducing me to a tool that helps me look outside myself in times of trouble searching for the presence that is always there when we focus on finding the Lord.

Of course, the ultimate role model for practicing the presence of God is Jesus. He spent the night before his arrest and trial in the garden communing with God. He called out to God from the cross and surrendered his soul to God at his death. On this Silent Saturday, we, too, would benefit from communing with God in preparation for tomorrow when Christ shines so bright we cannot help but see him.

Prayer:
Commune with me
commune with me
Between the wings of the cherubim
Commune with me**. Amen

*First verse and refrain from the hymn Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus by Helen H. Lemmel see at http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Turn_Your_Eyes_upon_Jesus/

**The first part of the song Commune with me by Kirk Dearman. See at http://www.tfbchurch.com/uploads/2/1/0/1/210144/commune_with_me.txt

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Day After Tragedy

Empty tombLent Silent Saturday April 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. — John 20:1-10

On the day after tragedy, those intimately involved are usually still in shock. Trips to graves and tombs, even taking flowers or other mementoes, helps in grasping the truth of what just happened–a truth not wanted. To arrive at the tomb and find the body missing had to have caused great consternation.

On the day after tragedy, memories often flood our minds and our conversations. I remember arriving with a group at the home of one of our friends the evening after his father’s death. After visiting with the family a bit he pulled someone aside and said, “I have to get out of here” and we friends all left in the middle of the night and went to a 24 hour pancake house, drank coffee, and told wonderful stories about my friend’s dad. He was a great guy. At times we laughed so hard we cried. Did Peter and the other disciple believe that the body had been stolen or did they remember and wonder about the times Jesus told them he would rise again?

On the day after tragedy, the lives of all involved are changed forever. We all need to grieve loss, but how we cope, how we pick up the pieces and move forward is a choice. The impact of Jesus’ love, from every day encounters to death on a cross, mattered. The seeds of love he had planted and nurtured in each of his followers mattered.

On this Silent Saturday, let us each contemplate how much God’s love matters to us. Let us remember the acts of God in our lives and through our lives that mattered to us and to others. And let us prepare for the rest of our lives today, for a mighty wind is blowing and the story is not yet over.

Prayer: Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
             Pure and holy, tried and true
            With thanksgiving,
I’ll be a living  Sanctuary for You.* Amen

*From Sanctuary by Vineyard see at http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/v/vineyard/sanctuary.html All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.