Christ is Crucified. Now What?

“On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.”

Holy Saturday is the “odd man out” of Holy Week. Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Each day has its unique worship service that moves us through the sacred time of redemption.

We have no such worship service on Holy Saturday. The day begins and ends with no call to gather. Holy Saturday leaves us to ourselves to ponder the death of Jesus. We can do little else. Christ is crucified. How shall we respond?

The text has a host of responses. The centurion praises God, declaring Jesus to be a “righteous man.” The crowds beat their breasts in mourning. The faithful women simply stand at a distance and watch. Our Western minds yearn for a completable task like Joseph of Arimathea’s “real job” of taking Jesus off the cross and burying him in his own tomb. We want anything to keep us from being alone with the weight of the crucifixion. The women try to prepare to anoint Jesus’s body appropriately, but the Jewish Sabbath stops them.

Holy Saturday stops us, too. Christ is crucified. There is nothing to do but ponder. We are torn. Do we praise God for his salvation? Do we beat our breast and mourn? Do we stand and watch, not at all sure what we ought to do—caught between praise and penance?

We are told Joseph is waiting for the Kingdom of God as he buries Jesus on “Preparation Day.” Even in action Joseph waits. He helps us understand our lonely task. As we vacillate between bold thankfulness and languishing lament, we reach the end of our reason and our strength. We are reminded that all we can do is wait with Joseph in hope for the Kingdom as we rightly teeter on the edge of grief and joy in our weakness.

Lord Jesus, thank you that as Holy Saturday brings us to the end of ourselves, our weakness readies us for your resurrection. Amen.

MICHAEL MAURIELLO, PHD
Associate Clinical Professor of Youth and Family Ministry
Truett Seminary