Reverend Ref +

HOLY SATURDAY

"There is no celebration of the Eucharist on this day."

Can you hear it? The sound of nothing. Nothing is happening today. All of creation is still. Still from the shock of the death of Jesus. Yes, Jesus is dead. That is why the funeral pall is over the altar. Still with the anticipation of his resurrection. We know what happened. We know what will happen. But right now, we are between times.

Much like now when we are between his resurrection and second coming, today we are between his death and resurrection. It's an odd feeling. We can't go back, and we don't dare go forward. Life has been put on pause.

Have you ever had one of those moments? One of those moments when everything seems to slow down and hang in the balance. In our everyday life, those moments are usually few and far between. Car accidents come to mind. Two of those moments come to mind for me.

First, when I was a teenager at summer camp. We had a soccer tournament, and I was the goalie for my team. During the course of that tournament, we went undefeated. Not only were we undefeated, but nobody even scored on us. Our last game was against the camp counselors and staff. There was one shot. Towards the upper right corner of the goal. I was off to the left. I jumped and laid out horizontally in the air. Would I or wouldn't I make the stop? Would I or wouldn't I keep our record intact? In those few seconds, nobody knew.

The second was at the birth of my daughter. I was there in the delivery room. My wife was in labor. No longer a childless couple, but not yet parents. There was no way I could go back to the way it was, and I was too scared to go forward. Going back would mean leaving my marriage, my wife, and my future child. Going forward would mean being responsible for the life of another human being in ways I couldn't even imagine. Would I or wouldn't I be able to cope with that? Would I or wouldn't I be a good parent? In those few minutes, nobody knew.

And that's where we are today. We can't go back to life before the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. Adn we can't go forward because we dont' yet know what will happen. All of creation is on pause today. Will Satan win? Will those who are more concerned with enforcing personal holiness codes and being right gain the upper hand? Or will God prevail? Will those who are more concerned with love and compassion adn respecting the dignity of every human being gain the upper hand? In these few hours, nobody knows.

So today, take a few minutes to pause and reflect. Remember where you've been. Dream about where you want to go. Today, hold your breath will all of creation. Today, more than any other day, hurry and wait upon the Lord.