4-19-2025

Good Morning All,

         Matthew 28:1; “Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.”

     It is now Saturday. We don’t even have a name for it. Some call it Easter Saturday. What do you do on Easter Saturday? Do you dye eggs? Do you begin preparing your Easter dinner? Do you fill your Easter baskets or finish on the flowers for decoration? How do you spend Saturday? I am very sure we spend it differently than the followers of Jesus did those long days ago.

    None of the Gospel writers tell us anything about Saturday. It would have been the Sabbath day, and all the writers end the prior chapters with Jesus’ death and hurried burial. The next chapter begins with “early on the first day of the week after the Sabbath” or some variation of that. But what happened on that Sabbath is not recorded. We can kind of speculate, most of us have been in the situation where a loved one died rather unexpectedly. There is oftentimes a sense of total emptiness. Some make idle work just to keep their hands busy. Some just start out the window as if they expect the loved one to come walking up. Some wonder around pouring a cup of coffee, taking a sip, setting it down, wandering some more then getting a different cup and repeating the routine.

    For me, my thoughts always go to Peter, what was on his mind and heart? The last interaction with Jesus was “the look” (Luke 22:61-62) after Peter’s denial of Jesus. His last interaction was one of betrayal and now he could never undo it. The women who followed Jesus are probably as active as they can be. Remember the Jewish day ends and the next begins at sunset. So, at sunset on Saturday, the women probably were out and about collecting the spices and herbs and aloes that they needed to properly prepare the body of Jesus for burial. You wonder if they slept at all that Saturday night.

    What a difference! Look at your Saturday versus theirs and see why. We know what happens; they had to experience it. We know the tomb is empty; they were about to find out. We plan everything knowing that Easter Sunday is about to bloom into our life. We anticipate while they worried and wondered. So, whether you are anticipating, or this is your first Easter, and you are filled with wonder and a little uncertainty; it all happens tomorrow! We plan the celebration of the most important day in history. We eagerly look forward to tomorrow. When the subdued nature of worship turns into full throated jubilation. It is coming and we wait with joyful hearts.

    Our Saturday against the follower’s Saturday could not be more different. But thanks be to God our Sunday will be exactly the same!

Tender Father, you graciously held those early followers in your loving arms to comfort them until the new truth was revealed to them. Hold us when we experience fear, loneliness and worry. Bring comfort to all who are hurting for our hope is always in Easter, our salvation is always the empty tomb. Keep us mindful that there is so much more to come because the tomb is empty. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret