Holy Saturday - The Tomb and The Light

Then Joseph boughta linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth,and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled astone against the door of the tomb. – Mark 15:46

“Our favorite place is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.” That was the response of Arab Lutheran friends that my wife and I visited many years ago in Jerusalem. We asked which holy site was the most meaningful for them. They knew it all. They were lifelong residents of East Jerusalem. My father-in-law was an executive for Pan American Airways and was friends with Samir, a travel agent, and his wife, Mary.

Jill and I were more impressed by the garden tomb that is maintained near the Jerusalem bus station. It has the look and feel of the tomb that artists have represented throughout the centuries. Whereas the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jesus’ tomb according to legend) is in a crowded part of town.

There are layers of church built upon the site. Each part of Christianity has claimed a portion. The Ethiopian Orthodox church maintains a community on the roof of the place. It seemed like a grand aggregation. We wondered what the fascination for our local friends was.

They told us they marveled to see all the world gathering in one spot to show veneration for the one who demonstrated love and followed that love to the point of death. I wonder, have we stopped on this Holy Saturday to offer thanks to Christ for his great love?

What I appreciate about this place, is an event that happens in the Orthodox tradition. It is the tradition of Holy Fire that claims the light of God enters the tomb and a holy fire is lit as we remember Jesus’ resurrection. I wonder, are we ready to come aflame with the light of resurrection hope?

I understand that Covid-19 has closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre this year. Are you ready for the light of resurrection to flood your life?

The Work of Love

You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, andcome down from the cross! – Mark 15:29-30

The work of Jesus was love. On this day, we consider the depths of that love. It is steadfast, never-ending. It conquers death and the deepest sense of abandonment.

Detail of a painting by Eustache Le Sueur

I have been thinking about this reading from Mark all morning. It tells us Jesus was crucified at 9 in the morning. I have been thinking about the memories that would have been in the heart of the women and other onlookers who watched him suffer the depths of abandonment.

John writes about Jesus in his gospel saying, “in him was Life, and the Life was the light of all people.” (John 1:4) When I gaze at the cross, I see a continuation of love. I consider the work Jesus undertook with outcasts and sinners. I see him sit at table with the privileged and the marginalized. I witness him teaching and healing. He gave it all away – and he did not come down from the cross.

Marc Chagall - "Jesus in the Night"

I remember reading Bonhoeffer say that when the worst was done to Jesus, thrusting him onto the cross, the powerful good news is that Jesus went through the cross and into the arms of God. I want to have that trust. I am teaching myself to lean on the steadfast love and mercy of God.

In these days of Covid-19 pandemic, we all feel thrust into a state of abandonment. I pray that you will do the work of love. Jesus did the work to the end so that we might begin anew.