Saturday April 11
Readings: There are so many readings for today (because these are the readings for the Easter vigil) that I direct you to usccb.org for the full line up. The readings are worth exploring especially because they provide the DNA (if you will) of our faith story through scripture.
I think of Holy Saturday as the “feast of all those who wait” and this day highlights the “in between”-ness of so many parts of our lives – especially the parts where we really do not know how they will turn out.
Because of our historical knowledge, we know how the situation with Jesus ends. But in so many areas of our own lives we don’t. Especially in these times of COVID-19, so much is uncertain.
We don’t know if we will get sick.
We don’t know if people we know will get sick or might die.
We don’t know if we will have a job or income.
We don’t know if our business (of the businesses of people close to us) will survive this downturn.
We don’t know when we will be with people again.
We don’t know what the new normal will look like.
And then we have the everyday situations that we face on top of whatever is happening now. These uncertainties are due to relational fragmentation, addiction, violence, injury, illness, politics, climate change…and the list goes on.
We just don’t know how so many stories will end.
Lately I have been rereading Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark because I have needed some hope. It’s a fascinating book about how the future is influenced by so many factors – factors that we can’t always see or know about. She says that “hope is not a belief that everything was, is or will be fine.” Nor is it an attitude of everything will get better.
Hope, rather, is more like a discipline (or a practice) that trusts in wild cards, uncertainties and openings that are yet to emerge. It does not deny that grief and hardship exist. It just doesn’t accept that they will have the final word.
Solnit tells stories of historical movements that failed to achieve their “goals” (not unlike Jesus) but set in motion things no one could have envisioned (like the Jesus movement) that changed history. So, she says, it is always too early to judge effect. Which is why we must persist.
Part of the wisdom of Holy Saturday is the active waiting that we are invited into by life. It is a moment where we are asked to leave behind what was familiar and move into an unknown place that provides little (or nothing) of what we knew. Nature’s seasons model this well for us every year (especially fall into winter and winter into spring), and Lent is actually supposed to be an expression of this same principle (no one saw this Lent coming, however!)
Many of us can probably relate to this waiting in the tomb experience. There is so much beyond our control. We’ve done all we can think of to do, and yet, the situation hasn’t changed. We’ve prayed as hard as we can, but the problem is still there. All we can do is breathe deeply, surrender and wait.
Jesus is our model in this. His stillness in the tomb is an active hope. It is a trust that God is moving even though God cannot be seen.
Today we lift up holy waiting. Give to God all the situations that haven’t turned out the way you wanted. Give to God the healings that you have waited for. Give to God everything that needs mending in your life and in the world that has not yet arrived. It may not feel like it, but this space too is holy ground.
10 Comments
Kathryn Franz
I am most grateful for your reflections from today and Good Friday. This period in the Christian year has always been difficult for me. The emphasis from my past church experience as a child/youngster was on SIN. Jesus died for MY SINS. It always seemed such a gruesome violent end to what I viewed as a transformative set of teachings on love, acceptance, forgiveness. What impressed me was Jesus’ life, definitely not his death.
Over the years, with help of Fr. Richard Rohr, Fr. David Stendl-Rast and other Christian mystics, cracks have opened in my mind. Your words have seeped in through those cracks, and I can begin to see this period with greater compassion and illumination. Thank you, and amen!
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks, Kathryn, for all of your reflections during this time. I have appreciated your contributions.
Michelle Maureen Hood
Wow, Mike. You daily reflections have been such a grace. Thank you so very much. And happy birthday!
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks, Maureen, for following along and for the birthday wishes….
Karen Batsford
Thank you, Mike, for your blogs today and throughout these last forty days. I am sure that all your readers appreciate the considerable challenge that you undertook every day to “unpack” the scriptures during this most unusual Lenten time. Yet you met this challenge with your unfailing spiritual maturity exercised in messages which acknowleged realities and extended wisdom and comfort.
As I read these (mostly) every day from a different and somewhat removed vantage point in Florida, they became my lifeline to Spiritus and our awesome community.
Thank you so much, Mike. Happy Easter to you and your family.
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks, Karen, for writing. It’s been great to have a virtual community of people on the journey. Happy Easter to you in Florida!
Claire Benesch
Thank you, Mike, for all the reflections you have presented to me during this holy season of Lent. Granted, it is far different than any Lent I have experienced during my lifetime. But it has been better than all of them! I’ve had more time to delve into the sacredness of this season with your help. I have had to surrender myself because of so much over which I’ve had no control. I will more acutely know the victory of Jesus on Easter Sunday and have the hope that my Risen Savior will help me as I continue this journey through Covid19 crisis. Jesus’ victory is also mine. And as I sit in my house very much alone, I am not alone! Happy Easter!
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks for this reflection, Claire. There is much that is out of our control these days that we must surrender to. Yes, you are not alone (but if it ever helps to check in with someone, please do!) Happy Easter to you!
Kelly
Mike thank you again for my every morning connection!! I’ve enjoyed , learned and reflected on your writings. This was wonderful today because it reflects what faith is really about . Thank you again!!! Kelly
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks, Kelly, for being with us on the journey. It’s been great to have this virtual community to reflect with each day!
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