Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
The events of Good Friday are gruesome and painful. It is not the kind of story that I would tell in detail to our Trinity Preschoolers. Savage violence has always been a regrettable part of the human story, and it is sad to say that it continues to this day. The powerful in Russia, Myanmar, the Middle East, and much of Africa think nothing of killing for political expediency. I don’t suppose that we should leave the United States off that list either.
The events of Good Friday are well documented: an innocent man, false witnesses, religious and political leaders who feared losing control, a mock trial, execution, darkness, burial, and grief-stricken loved ones left crying at a tomb. The events of Easter are well documented; the stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, the followers of Jesus were bewildered, there was more fear than joy, angels proclaimed resurrection, and Jesus is mistaken for the gardener.
That covers to some extent Friday and Sunday but the events of Saturday are unwritten, unspoken, unknown, resting in the silent pages of history. Between the horror of Good Friday, and the surprise of Easter, is Silent Saturday. We have no recollection of that day. We might imagine locked doors, guilt, shame, blame, and the overwhelming sense of loss. Silent Saturday is just that, silent.
It occurs to me that most of our lives play out on Silent Saturdays. We have occasional Good Fridays and, every once in a while an Easter celebration comes our way, but most days are Silent Saturdays. Most days are not captured in the pages of our memory book or chronicled on Facebook. We just carry on, we carry on in faith or doubt, moving from one mostly silent day to the next.
That makes Silent Saturday the most overlooked and probably the most important day in the Holy Week story. Those who did not make it through Saturday never got to experience Easter. Judas never heard the words, “Do not be afraid.” Silent Saturdays might seem unremarkable, but that simply is not true, for that is where the bulk of our lives are lived.
Take time on this Silent Saturday to make some headlines that will never make the South Whidbey Record. Listen to some music, say a prayer or two, take the time to reach out to a friend or neighbor who might be stuck on Good Friday. Take some time on this Silent Saturday to give thanks for the gift of this day.
Tomorrow we party, but today is mostly silent.
One day closer,
Pastor Jim
