Holy Saturday

The big weekend is here: Easter! We start off by remembering Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday, and then a big celebration for Resurrection Sunday.

It was not until Dallas Seminary when a classmate of mine opened my world to embracing and remembering Holy Saturday.  When he mentioned it, I remember vividly responding, “What on earth is that?!”

What is Holy Saturday? It is that day in-between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Not much is said about this day… this in-between day. Luke tells us that the women returned home and prepared spices and ointments and on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment (Luke 23:56). Matthew, on the other hand, recounts what the chief priests and the Pharisees were up to: securing a guard at Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 27:62-66).

Holy Saturday, the day after Jesus’ crucifixion was not a particularly special day, surely not a Holy Saturday. As the story unfolds, Jesus is alive. He resurrected but not until the third day.

So, why Holy Saturday? Saturday reminds me of the “already but not yet.” Of course, Easter Sunday is coming. But it hasn’t come yet. There is something unique about Saturday, about being in the in-between; something about waiting, expecting and hoping.

Life can feel like a long Saturday. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom when He died and rose again. His kingdom is here and now, already but not yet. New life is ours now, already but not yet. At least not in its fullest measure.

Sunday ought to be the grandest celebration of all time. Afterall, death is defeated. The enemy is overthrown. Resurrection indeed changes everything even on this side of life. But yet, today, right now, there is still anxiety, disappointment, failure, illness, pain, injustice, hurt, loss, and even a pandemic.

For me, Holy Saturday is as sobering as it is comforting. It is sobering because not every day feels like a grand celebration. It is comforting because Sunday is coming and as sure as Resurrection Sunday comes after Saturday, we know Jesus is coming back for us. Every wrong made right. Every tear wiped. Death done away forever. With His return, new life in the new heaven and new earth. So much to look forward to.

But here we are: on Holy Saturday, not quite Sunday yet.

What I want to leave you with is a song. A song by Black Eyes Peas: “I got a feeling.”

This song epitomizes “already but not yet.” Though I doubt it’s the artists’ intention.

The chorus goes:

I got a feelin'
That tonight's gonna be a good night
That tonight's gonna be a good night
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night

This song makes me tap my feet or fingers. It makes me want to dance. They are partying to what will happen tonight.  They are celebrating “tonight,” something that is not yet but will happen, and they are celebrating it now. This is how we celebrate on Holy Saturday in the midst of pandemic. In the “not yet.”

His kingdom here, but not yet. But Sunday is coming… and we celebrate it now.

Ju Lynn Stinton is an associate pastor at Tapestry Marpole
Photo by Sunyu