appropriate

Saturday, April 23, 2011 (7:36 a.m.)

Beloved God,

Since around 2:30 this morning I’ve been thinking about today. With yesterday having been Good Friday, in my humble opinion today could very appropriately be known as Sad Saturday. And in some Internet searching I confirm that what I have been feeling ever since first having a conscious thought SO much earlier this morning is indeed appropriate.

Thank You for leading me Lord. Thank You for guiding me to a couple of sites which endorse my thinking. In two of them I read that today is often referred to as Holy Saturday or even Easter Saturday. I also learn of “The Easter Triduum” ~ “The Three Days” beginning Thursday evening of Holy Week with Holy Communion [to commemorate Your Last Supper] and ending with evening prayers on Easter Sunday.

Lord, how I thank You for showing me the appropriateness of the ‘lowered feeling tones’ surrounding me this morning. Thank You also that after falling back to sleep much earlier, I awoke with the Truth of Psalm 30:5. “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Blessed Lord, reading more of the accounts of Your last days I truly thank You that we have the expanded version of knowing what takes place at the tomb on Easter Sunday. Thank You Lord that we are not without hope!

One site says this about Holy Saturday, “This is the seventh day of the week, the day Jesus rested in the tomb.” What a unique way of presenting that dark day in history. I never thought of You ‘resting in the tomb’.

This same site in describing “The Days of Holy Week” tells of some church services that observe a “Service of Darkness [or Shadows]” on the evening of Good Friday where ‘Scripture readings and meditation are done in stages with lights or candles that are gradually extinguished to symbolize the growing darkness not only of Jesus’ death but of hopelessness in the world without God.’

Yes Lord, how I thank You for confirming that this feeling of sadness is appropriate! The writer of this particular webpage again refers to today as “traditionally a day of quiet meditation as Christians contemplate the darkness of a world without a future and without hope apart from God and His grace.” Oh Dearest Lord, how appropriate sadness would be if that were true!

Another webpage writer refers to the vigil that some people keep to remember the faithfulness of the women at the tomb, “even when it didn’t make sense”. He goes on to say that ‘sometimes the best you can do is to stay faithful to God when He doesn’t make sense, or after your dreams have died, or your life is in shambles, or after you’re doing great and life is good’.

He goes on to say how You, Lord, remain faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to You. And then he ends with this most appropriate blessing. “May this day be for you a vigil of faithfulness to the One who is faithful to you, even should you fail to keep watch and pray. And then, may your Easter encounter with the Risen Christ – who, it turns out, is establishing His realm, and it’s not business as usual – may this Lord of Life surprise you with a healthy dose of new life.”

Oh most Dear and Precious Lord, how I thank You for guiding and directing me in learning more of what today truly represents. You are so good and I am so grateful. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(601 words ~ 9:22 a.m.)