God at Work
As evening came, and earth fell still,
on that great Sabbath day,
the Lord descended to fulfill
his oath to end death’s sway.
He visited Eve’s borrowed tomb.
He rolled the stone away.
“Talitha cum; shake off your gloom,”
the Lord did to her say.
This is the day the Lord has made;
Awake, O sleeping one,
Rejoice; be glad! Be not afraid.
Your battle has been won.
The wily serpent struck my heel
His venom coursed my veins.
But all sin-sickness, my blood heals.
No enmity can reign.
Awake, dear Adam, from your bed,
Good news have I to share.
My son has crushed
the serpent’s head.
God answered all our prayers.
The sting of death has lost it pow’r;
the grave is weak and pale.
The Light, the darkness, does devour;
Death’s shadow can’t prevail.
– Hymn for Holy Saturday by Byron Wratee –
We have passed the halfway mark of the season of Lent. Easter is just over two weeks away. Can you believe it? These 40 days of Lent began with the ashes of Ash Wednesday. We confronted our mortality, reminded that we came from dust and to dust we shall return. We confessed our sin before God within the community of faith. We embraced the painful truth that our sins, conscious and unconscious, cause real harm. We have walked during Lent in the power of God’s loving gaze, clearing out all that keeps us from God and drawing us closer to God all at once. We are experiencing a spiritual spring cleaning!
The closing days of Lent lead us to Holy Week. Beginning with Palm Sunday, we recall, reenact even, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his final meal with his dear friends on Holy Thursday, his death by crucifixion on Good Friday, and his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Did you notice a day of the week missing in those final days? That’s right, Saturday, also known as Holy Saturday. On this day, we remember that, as some versions of The Apostles’ Creed note, Jesus “descended to the dead”. Jesus’ descent is a reminder of God’s presence even in the most painful and anguished of places. As Rev. Warren Smith notes, there is no part of our existence to which Christ did not descend. There is no place where the love of God isn’t present, no place where God is afraid to go.
As we journey through Lent, often confronted with painful truths about ourselves and the world around us, God continues to offer hope. For, as Byron Wratee wrote in his Hymn for Holy Saturday, “The Light, the darkness, does devour; Death’s shadow can’t prevail.” Wherever we find ourselves this season, walking through the valley of the shadow of death, praising God from the mountaintops, or the walking in-between, God is with us. God never forsakes us and never will. As we wait for the glorious joy of Easter Sunday, let us remember that even in the pain of Holy Saturday, God is at work, overcoming even death itself. Let us hold on to this unshakeable hope as we walk together with God this season and beyond.