At that moment the curtain of the Temple was torn into, from the top to the bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs were also opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s son!”—Matthew 27:51-54 [cf: Mark 15:38-39]
Holy Saturday is a day of uncomfortable waiting that presents followers of Christ today with a paradox. It is both a day when nothing happens in the conventional story of Jesus and when everything happens that matters to our faith—1 Corinthians 15:12-14.
On one hand, nothing happens to Jesus on Holy Saturday. His body lays lifeless in a sealed tomb. According to Matthew, guards are posted outside the tomb to make sure no one disturbs it or spreads “fake news” about Jesus rising—Matthew 27:62–66.
According to this theology, when Jesus raises from his tomb, he isn’t alone he raises all of humanity with him. (The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis, literally meaning “rising or sitting up”.) The statement Jesus makes here is profound and unmistakable; it resonates through eternity: Even Death ccannot defeat the power of God! [1]
This is an encouraging word for us, who “live out our days on Holy Saturday”. That is to say, we live life with God in the eternal now, but we also await the not yet, or the fullness of God’s Kingdom. If his Tomb couldn’t hold Jesus, if Death doesn’t get the last word, that means none of the temporary “deaths” or “tombs” you and I face do either, whether they be imposed by the current Coronavirus threat or by other pain, suffering, hardship, or difficult circumstances we encounter in this life. God’s power surpasses all these things.
Holy Saturday also reminds us that important things sometimes happen when “on the surface,” things seem lifeless. Gardeners like me know that plants that look dead in winter are often merely dormant—awaiting spring “resurrection”. I’m reminded of this on my whenever I look at the trees in my neighborhood. Every year lifeless brown twigs in winter transform into branches laden with buds and blossoms in spring, which rapidly give way to green leaves. The flora flourish during the summer months and then fade to autumn glory, before the leaves fall and the cycle begins anew. To sum it up: For everything there is a season…— Ecclesiastes 3:1–8.
Tomorrow on Easter, the traditional words we say are: Christ is risen... Christ is risen indeed! Perhaps, in light of the events of Holy Saturday, we should hasten to add:
We are risen! ... we are risen indeed!
God, whenever we find ourselves in that uncomfortable space between the now and the not yet, help us to trust that You are with us. Even when we feel like we are trapped in a tomb, reassure us that You are still here. No matter how hard the situation may seem, no matter how impossible the odds—help us know that death never has the last word. A day of resurrection will come when the clouds lift and the Light of the World shines through. Until that day we commit to: “Just be still. Just have hope. And wait for the Lord!” AMEN
[1] If you want to learn more about this topic, I highly recommend Resurrecting Easter: How the East Lost and the West Kept the Original Easter Vision [New York: HarperCollins, 2018] by John Dominic and Sarah Sexton Crossan [cover shown above]. This book takes you on a visual tour of the development of theology surrounding Jesus’s resurrection.
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