Holy Saturday-How do we celebrate it today?
What is Holy Saturday? For many Evangelicals, this is a term with little meaning. The historical context comes from ancient church practices dating back to the 1st century AD. According to sources, it was the only Saturday on which fasting was allowed by the early church.
Modern traditions regarding the day are varied. As a part of the church calendar, it is the last day of Holy Week and the end of the forty days of Lent. It is remembered as the day when Christ’s body lay in the tomb prior to His resurrection, the day when Pilate posted guards outside of the tomb to prevent Jesus’ body from being taken away by His followers. Roman Catholic theology holds it as the day when Christ descended into Hades and freed the faithful there who had died prior to His time on earth (known as the ‘Harrowing of Hell’). It is known as Judas Day in Mexico, a time when effigies of the former disciple are burned. For the different Christian traditions, it is a day of sadness or joy; some churches hold an overnight Easter vigil in preparation for the coming Resurrection Day. Some denominations remove ornamentation from their sanctuaries, or cover the altar in black cloth.
For the apostles it was a day of waiting. Jesus had told His followers on several occasions that He would rise from the dead, but they hadn’t fully comprehended the meaning of His words. On the day after His crucifixion, what for them could have been a day of anticipation was instead a day of depression. Imagine in your mind’s eye the picture of a small group of people, hiding somewhere in Jerusalem behind locked doors — bewildered by the recent turn of events, and fearful that the same fate might soon await them.; the women of the group wanting to honor Him by wrapping and preparing His body with spices, but unable to because it was still the Sabbath day.
We have the advantage of being able to look back over time and see the resurrection event on the next day. As evangelicals, some of our focus during this time is on Good Friday, with much if not most of our attention fixed on the glory of Christ walking out of the tomb on Easter Sunday. For us, Holy Saturday could be easily overlooked in the excitement of the coming Lord’s Day.
So, how do we go about remembering and honoring this time during Holy Week? We know “the rest of the story,” so sadness would be a difficult emotion to ponder. Perhaps, for us evangelicals, Holy Saturday can best be used as a day of contemplation, a time when we reflect on the need for Golgotha and the price that was paid there. The joy of Easter Sunday and the knowledge that death no longer has any hold over us sometimes masks our remembering that it was my sin that created the need for Good Friday in the first place.
Jesus gave up His rights to pay the penalty that rightly belonged to me — is it too much for me to give up a day of shopping, and spend it in a time of quiet reflection, Bible study, and prayer?
To turn off the television and listen for the Lord to determine how I might better serve Him during the coming year? To lead a small group study that reflects why we need a Savior, and how Jesus fills that need?
To lead a Saturday worship service that includes songs like “Thief” (Third Day) and “Before the Throne of God Above,” to remind folks that sinfulness demands a price to be paid, and that the decision we make about who we will follow (ourselves, or Jesus) will determine who has to pay that price?
To write a blog that helps to remind me that my sins are no less significant than anyone else’s — that I need Jesus just as much as everyone else?
