Holy Saturday Weirdness

          Lynching Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama. Photo by The Pensacola Hippie

Today is Holy Saturday, the day in the Church Year that we modern liturgical Christians are not ** quite** sure how to handle. Our Holy Friday observances are over--- we've walked with Christ from His arrest to His death. 

 Today, we sit with the fact that Christ is resting in a " borrowed" tomb. His { male} disciples are hidden in the Upper Room-- afraid for their lives. His mother must be in the pain known only to mothers who have lost children. Barabbas is probably at home with his wife and children-- grateful that another person took his place on the Hill Of Death. 

 The people who walked with Christ during His earthly ministry had a good reason to be scared and depressed-- the One Whom they thought would bring a new ' regime change'  is dead. After three years of following this particular rabbi and healer around the countryside-- they were left bereft . 

  We modern Christ-followers do know " the rest of the story'. Yet, as a friend pointed out today, we still do not quite  know how to handle this day in our cycle. There is a Holy Saturday liturgy that essentially reminds us that " God is dead"-- but it is a mere half page. 

This Triduum, the weirdness is even more marked in my practice since COVID protocols preclude the annual Easter Vigil--- one of my personal favorite worship services of the year.  At the Vigil, we are reminded that Christ did overcome death-- and that the women who came in the wee hours of the morning to tend to His body found an empty tomb. The Vigil, when the Light of Christ is kindled from an Easter fire, marks the turning point in the Triduum for many liturgical Christians . 

Its been a year of Lent-- " letting go" and showing sacrificial love for others.  In the grand scheme of Year 2020 and all that we've laid down, missing the Easter Vigil is no " big deal".   At the same time I am wondering when I should make that shift from sorrow into joy?  In observance of Holy Friday, I stripped my home altar on Thursday--- and look forward to setting it up to celebrate Eastertide. 

Holy Saturday is weird, indeed. 

Sit with the weirdness for awhile , longer, friends! 

Easter is coming! 

Amen

Sarah McCarren

Holy Saturday 2021