Holy Saturday: A Day of Paradox

Life's big contradiction

Photo by Ryan Parker on Unsplash

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Dear reader,

In the Christian calendar we plunged into the depths of despair yesterday as we went with Jesus to the cross. In it was the fullness of suffering. For us, darkness descended as he was laid in the tomb, and the stone sealed what seemed to be the end of hope.

In my personal journey with traditional Passiontide over the last two weeks I had embraced the stories of the rejection of Jesus. It was moving.

During Holy Week much of Christendom, following the jubilation of Palm Sunday, then moved through the sorrows of Jesus and the historical events on the path to the cross: Judas’ payment for betrayal, the last supper, the garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal via a kiss, his arrest, the illegal trial on false charges, the lies, the mockery, the lashings and beatings, the condemnation, and the call for his execution. The harrowing path to the cross.

On the cross it was finished. As he was then laid in the tomb, churches around the world blew out their Christ candles.

Darkness.

Silence.

As the sun has risen again, it is in the shadow of that darkness and silence that we have today - Holy Saturday.

Today has many names. Those names lean into both darkness and light. Low Saturday. Black Saturday. the Saturday of Light. Saturday of the Glory. The list goes on. These seemingly contradictory names capture the paradox of the day - a contrast. There’s a tension. The contradiction is between the seen and unseen of the day.