Saturday, April 19
Job 14:1-14
Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16
1 Peter 4:1-8
Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42
Holy Saturday is a day of somber waiting. For
someone like me who naturally tends toward melancholy, Job’s voice resonates.
Mortals,
born of woman,
are
of few days and full of trouble.
They
spring up like flowers and wither away;
like
fleeting shadows, they do not endure.
Job 14:1-2 (NIV)
It must have been awful for the original followers
of Christ during the dark time after Jesus’ crucifixion and before the resurrection.
If the apostles felt any hope, we certainly don’t hear about it in the Bible. I
imagine they felt betrayed and abandoned, just like we do when we don’t feel
God’s presence in our lives. Although the Bible is full of hope and redemption,
during the dark times, we often miss it too. Or choose not to see it, really,
because we know it is out there, somewhere. It is part of our human condition,
I guess, this struggle to find God in our broken, limited world.
But if we believe in the promises of God through
Jesus Christ, hope is infused in every possible earthly situation. I see this
sentiment expressed over and over in these beautiful meditations written by
members of my church family. This is why I belong to a church, to be part of
this community of hope. We’re all searching for God together. It’s nice to know
we are not alone in our journey. God never abandons us, and, in addition, this
loving God of ours has given us the gift of each other to help us along.
We not only endure; we thrive. And we are redeemed.
Evelyn Snow