Holy Saturday: Between Grief and Glory

Holy Saturday...this day always hits me hard, sometimes harder than good Friday itself. It's a strange, hopeful and bittersweet reality here and I think of the realities that those closest to Jesus were living in on that day between grief and glory.

There was no "between" yet for many of them. They were in shock and despair over what had just happened. They witnessed their pure teacher, their friend, beaten and tortured and murdered and he was now laying entombed.

They were shaken. They were scared. They were deeply saddened. They were confused. They didn't know what to do and I imagine sat their numbed.

He had said one thing but they had witnessed another. It didn't go the way they thought it would.

YES the truth was and is and is to come, no matter their feelings...but they didn't know.

Image of print by Ingrid Blixt | Open Journey

They believed what he taught and what he said, but they didn't know how. That Saturday their existence truly was that space of grief before the glory.

And I can't help but think how often those we know are in that space. I'm considering my own grief - let's use my mom as an example. I'm saddened by what I've seen and known and by the absence of the comfort she brought me earthside....but I KNOW of His glory. I know she's in a better place, I'm thankful she isn't suffering here. I still feel my selfish grief at navigating this ugly world without her in it, but I KNOW MORE. I've FELT more, I've EXPERIENCED more.

I have hope in the truth....I'm blessed to have the knowledge of what's out there. So while I have feelings about my experience, I live my LIFE in the hope of the truth - it's stronger.

But so many don't know...they're still stuck in yesterday without the hope of tomorrow. And others are somewhere between grief and glory...they want to believe beyond what they see and feel and what they've experienced

, but what they see is powerful. What they've experienced IS real and they may not know yet.

It's a strange place to be and I think, as believers...it's a hard place to witness to. And even after the knowledge of what tomorrow brings, Jesus's own followers still had trouble BELIEVING the truth. They knew and yet still remained somewhere between grief and glory.....until they would experience that glory and he would reach them.

So yes, I will never stop REJOICING over what I know. Even in the grief, I know the glory that's coming through our Lord and savior....I know the GLORY that is here because of him. I celebrate it not just yearly at Passover and Easter, but daily.

But to ignore the grief...well, it would be to ignore the reality of so many of those 1's so I could celebrate with the 99.

We can do both. We can both weep with the hurting and rejoice in the truth. We can console the mourning and be a presence of hope, physically and with our words and actions. We can mourn with others and serve. We can cast our attention on the least of these, the despondent, the poor, the lost, the addicted, the abused, the orphaned, the widowed, the castaways....and we can love them between grace and glory for as long as they need.

After all, isn't that what he did? Isn't that what he does?

For years I've either been closer to one side or the other, but today I'm some otherworldly tension of them both and feel complete peace that I know is not of myself whatsoever. And i just wanted to share these prayers and ponderings with you.

ZECHARIAH 12:10-14 AND 13: MOURNING FOR THE ONE THEY PIERCED

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[a] of grace and supplication. They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

CLEANSING FROM SIN

13 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.