Saturday, April 23, 2011

Sitting In It

There is a lot of reflection that happens in this Holy Week. I think as humans we like to go from the joy and waving of palms on Palm Sunday, to the celebration on Easter Sunday. However, if we don’t walk through all of Holy Week, through Jesus’ last Supper with his disciples, to all of the events leading up to Jesus being crucified, we miss why we sing out with all of our hearts, 'Christ the Lord has Risen Today' on Easter Sunday. But even if we come to Good Friday services and enter into the pain that Jesus endured for us, still we can leave and go on about our weekend, getting excited for Easter to come.
But this is Easter Saturday and for those first followers of Christ, all hope seemed gone, ‘It is finished’ seemed to be the end of the story. They had lost their friend, the leader, their teacher. They had held onto the hope that he was the Messiah but after the events of the crucifixion they began to doubt. Today was the day they simply sat in their grief, where hope seemed to fade and the darkness overshadowed any light.
I don’t know about your lives but in my own I have experienced different times of grief. I have had those times where it overwhelmed me, where the only choice it seemed I had was to sit in it. Sitting in grief is not a fun place to be. There is something in us that desires to see the hope, see the light for the darkness but there are times when it doesn’t come and so we dwell in it. In these Holy Saturday moments, know that God is there. Indeed we have been promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. Sometimes it is hard to trust in that promise, it seems to fade, just as it must have for those first disciples of Christ. But then Jesus showed himself to them and Jesus will show himself to us. It is a call to cling to the promises of our Savior, even when we can’t understand.
I heard a song this week by Laura Story called “Blessings” and reminded me that in those times of grief, the most profound blessings can come and that God Presence is made known. I’ve added the link to the song below.
My prayer for all of us, is that we experience the fullness of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Spend some time sitting in the grief of the disciples and the grief that is prevalent in this world. Then trust in the promise that Sunday is coming, the Light of this world has overcome all darkness and has conquered death, for you and for me. I wish you all a very Blessed Easter.
Pastor Laura

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