My name is Ashley Love and I have been a member of Trinity for almost 15 years. The Saturday after Good Friday – the Sabbath in Biblical times – has always seemed to me a “quiet” day in the midst of a chaotic and eventful week. In modern times, we fill the day with family, Easter eggs, and preparations for an Easter meal. We’ve experienced Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. Saturday seems to be a day of waiting – for the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday morning.
I can only imagine the fear and uncertainty felt by Jesus’ followers on that first Sabbath after his death. Their beloved Jesus was gone. His body was in the tomb. Death was the end. What would happen next? What trials would they face? I’m sure that Sabbath day of prayers and contemplation was filled with unease and worry.
I have had the privilege of being present with two family members – my father and my great-grandmother – as they journeyed from our physical world to a heavenly home. These occasions were sad, but also very holy moments because of my faith and the faith of my family members. Unlike Jesus’ first followers, we knew about the promise of new life in Heaven because of Jesus’ Resurrection – and that made all the difference. Shortly before he died, a close friend visited my dad and said “I will see you again, whether it is on this side or the other”. My dad took her hand and said “It’s gonna be great.” That is the joy in Jesus’ Resurrection. We know what the early believers did not.
The tomb was merely a “pit stop” for Jesus. Not an end, but a beginning. May we all take a few quiet moments today to remember and be thankful for the life Jesus shared with us on Earth and the new life given to us in Heaven because of his sacrifice.
Ashley Love