Greetings Dear Reader,
As we ponder the Saturday after Good Friday, we will look at
the gathered group of Apostles and take the measure of their minds. They are all sure that Jesus is dead. There are other things with which they must
contend.
John is the last to arrive at the upper room where they last
ate with Jesus. Mary and other women are
with him. They have just laid Jesus in
the borrowed tomb. Unfortunately, they do
not consider it borrowed. They are
trapped in a moment where faith is suspended and, therefore, hope cannot
breathe.
They probably observe the Sabbath meal. It is likely quiet and also filled with
useless words. Eventually, someone has the
courage to ask John what he saw. Peter,
overcome by guilt and shame remains uncharacteristically quiet. The sun has set on the day he denied Jesus
before dawn. It will never set on his
guilt.
They all fear that the Priests or the Romans will still seek
them out. They know the Pharisees are
vindictive and the Romans are thorough. John
relates that at the end, one of the Roman officers admitted that Jesus was the
Son of God. Perhaps it is enough to keep
them away.
The Apostles, sheltering in place on this restless day of
rest consider everything lost. They do
not embrace the faith and hope that should be their stronghold given all they
have seen over the last three years. Later
in the day they discuss returning to fishing and weaving. Matthew expresses that he has learned too much
to go back to gathering taxes. James and
John joke that they will teach him to fish.
The laughter is weak and filled with shame.
The darkness descends on the Sabbath between Friday and
Sunday. Thomas says that he will venture
out in the morning to buy some food for all of them. It is then that they wonder where Judas
is. This summons comments of anger and
worry. They worry more about him telling
the Priests where they are than they do about Judas. None of them sees what they are all missing.
You see, Dear Reader, they could have had a day of rest
filled with hope and anticipation. They
could have celebrated the Sabbath knowing that the Lord of the Sabbath was at
work, ready to restart time after dividing it eternally. They could have seen Saturday as the pause
between the fullness of time and when it begins to flow again toward the day when
all things are returned to good.
The missed opportunity is that none of them plans to be at
the tomb on the morning of the third day.
They do not believe that the tomb will open, the sun will shine, and
that Jesus will return to them. It is
not the death of Jesus that has them undone.
It is their failure to see how it fits everything they have
experienced. On this day we are to rest in
hope and faith, I hope we can do so well in this time of crisis. The grains in the glass flow through the
pinch bringing us ever closer to the time when our faith and hope will be
realized and become unnecessary. Let us
rest today and gather strength to hope for tomorrow. We can meet at the tomb just before sunrise
if you like.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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