The Deafening Silence of Holy Saturday

By CY Yan

A seemingly never-ending pandemic, the tearful exodus of thousands upon thousands from Hong Kong, the helpless cries of the oppressed in Myanmar, the desperation of those fleeing Afghanistan, and – most recently – the harrowing images from amid the heartless invasion of Ukraine by a super-power… !

Faced with such uncertainties and atrocities, we Christians are quite good in giving our quick and slick answers:

“God is in control!”
“All things work together for good!”
“Trust God!”

But all too often, we say these mindless words to a hurting world too hastily – without first priming their hearts and minds to hear those perennial and powerful truths.

And that brought me to this beautiful piece by Max Lucado on the Silent Saturday:

Jesus is silent on Saturday. The women have anointed his body and placed it in Joseph’s tomb. The cadaver of Christ is as mute as the stone which guards it. He spoke much on Friday. He will liberate the slaves of death on Sunday. But on Saturday, Jesus is silent.

So is God. He made himself heard on Friday. He tore the curtains of the temple, opened the graves of the dead, rocked the earth, blocked the sun of the sky, and sacrificed the Son of Heaven. Earth heard much of God on Friday.

Nothing on Saturday. Jesus is silent. God is silent. Saturday is silent.

Easter weekend discussions tend to skip Saturday. Friday and Sunday get the press. The crucifixion and resurrection command our thoughts. But don’t ignore Saturday. You have them, too.

Silent Saturdays. The day between the struggle and the solution; the question and the answer; the offered prayer and the answer thereof.

[…]

Jesus knew God would not leave him alone in the grave. You need to know, God will not leave you alone with your struggles. His silence is not his absence, inactivity is never apathy. Saturdays have their purpose. They let us feel the full force of God’s strength. Had God raised Jesus fifteen minutes after the death of His son, would we have appreciated the act? Were He to solve your problems the second they appear, would you appreciate His strength?

For His reasons, God inserts a Saturday between our Fridays and Sundays. If today is one for you, be patient. As one who endured the silent Saturday wrote: “Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7 NKJV).

— https://maxlucado.com/the-silence-of-saturday/

For those of us who know grieving – it’s like going through a dark tunnel. If you stop you’ll get stuck in there forever; if you move on you don’t know when you’ll see the light at the other end. What really helps is having someone there with you, walking alongside and giving you comfort and reassurance.

That’s why He came to us in flesh, to walk with us, to mourn with us! And we are called to follow Him and do what He did in a dark and dreary world.

As people in ESL ministries, perhaps the primary task before us this Easter is not to rush into the resurrection joy too soon, but to learn to journey and be identified with the ESL students who are in pain and suffering.

Only then will we earn their hearing of the hope of glory that we have in the resurrected Christ!