The Church of St.
Paul and Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
April 11, 2020
Holy Saturday
Job 14:1-14
Psalm 130
1 Peter 4:1-8
Mathew 27:57-66
Lessons of an In-Between Time
This
morning we arrive at this strange time, the time between Good Friday and
Easter, a time between death and new life.
The
Church in the East has given a lot of thought to what was going on when the
body of Jesus lay lifeless in the tomb, imagining Jesus descending to the dead,
soon to lead yet another parade, unshackling the gates of hell, liberating the
people who had been waiting there for so long.
In
art, often it’s Adam and Eve who are at the head of the parade, symbolizing
humanity redeemed at last.
But,
I love the idea suggested by the writer Gary Wills, that maybe Judas was the
first one freed from hell, reminding us that no sin is beyond God’s
forgiveness.
Here
in the western church, we haven’t given as much thought to this strange
in-between time.
We
offer only this simple and spare service, acknowledging that for a strange and
terrible time Jesus really was dead, sitting for a little while with that
strange and unsettling thought.
Usually
it feels like we are just barely able to squeeze in this service because
waiting in the wings are the choirs and the altar guild and the cleaners and
polishers and flower arrangers, everybody eager to get us ready for Easter.
But,
things are different this year – so very different – there’s no one here except
Sue and me and not much needs to be done to get ready for Easter.
And,
in a strange way, as disappointing as it all is, as much as we’ll miss the
flowers and the music and the crowds, the outfits and the hats, this in-between
time feels exactly right for the in-between time in which we are all living.
We
are all living between Good Friday and Easter, between death and new life.
Just
like on that first Holy Saturday, it can look to us like nothing much is
happening.
And,
yet, we know that out of our sight, people are hard at work, striving to heal
and to comfort, to clean and to stock, to protect and to serve.
And,
God is right in the thick of it, descending into even the most hellish places,
comforting and strengthening, unshackling from fear, and, as always, leading us
upward and onward to new life.
So,
for now, we wait at the tomb, waiting for God to reveal God’s greatest lesson
of all.
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