Faith in a Time of Pandemic: Holy Saturday

XXVIII.
HOLY SATURDAY: LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY
(4/11)

And so because it was the Jewish day of preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:42)

We are living in Holy Saturday these days, and for the foreseeable future. The pandemic has not fully peaked and we know it will be with us for the indefinite future. Those who thought church doors would open for Easter have re-dated to the end of the month and perhaps beyond. Deep down, we know it will be longer than that! We are living in the in-between times, charting our pilgrimage, a journey without distance, between our homes and the grocery store or the woods or the beach, or confined to our apartment building. We are in the wilderness and we must accept this reality. This was the reality of Jesus’ first female and male followers. They had no sense of what the future would bring. They hadn’t yet heard of a resurrection. They were sheltering in place, anxious and afraid, concerned that the cross might be their fate as well.

Yet, beneath the surface, God is at work. In the tomb, new life is emerging. In the bulb, there is a flower. In death, resurrection. The disciples, female and male, don’t know this yet. And, yet, God is quietly working.

Perhaps, beneath the pandemic, there is also a gentle movement of grace and healing. A movement of love and creation. A movement of new life. Let us train our eyes toward signs of resurrection. Let us listen for the sounds of birthing quietly at work, and the darkness of the tomb giving way to the darkness of the womb, and the birth of new life in our world of tragic beauty.
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Help us to live with uncertainty, and not knowing. Give us patience with the unsettled future. But, inspire us to do what we can to be agents and apostles of hope on this Holy Saturday. Amen.

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Bruce Epperly is a Cape Cod pastor, professor, and author of over fifty books including FAITH IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC and GOD ON LINE: A MYSTIC’S GUIDE TO THE INTERNET