Happy Easter weekend!!
As a Christian, this weekend brings about a range of emotions. Jesus’ death and resurrection is equally a reason for me to mourn and equally a reason for me to rejoice!
As I’ve been thinking and reminding myself about the significance and implications of Easter, I suddenly came upon this really random thought. We have Good Friday and we have Easter Sunday. But we don’t really have a name for the Saturday that lies in between. In my opinion, days automatically gain significance just by having a label. Maybe that’s why Good Friday and Easter Sunday are so widely known, and maybe even celebrated, even in the secular world. But what happens on Saturday?
Even without an official label, Saturday is still a part of Easter weekend. And an equally important part. I would even argue that perhaps, it is even more important in terms of our response as Christians.
There are multiple instances in the Bible where Jesus is recorded as having predicted his own death and resurrection. In Matthew 16:21, it states, “From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
If I were one of Jesus’ disciples at the time he was crucified, I would have totally forgotten what Jesus said and spent the whole Saturday freaking the freak out and questioning my entire identity as a Christian. Now that Jesus is “dead,” I would feel lost and hopeless. Ok, my leader/mentor/teacher is dead. Now what? Where do I go? In this situation, I think I would have 2 options: Trust what Jesus has told me about his resurrection, or lose all hope and completely leave the faith.
Now, if I were a VERY faithful disciple who never doubts Jesus’ words, I would be completely at peace. I imagine I’d still be sad + frustrated by all the suffering he had to go through, but I would have peace knowing that death is not the actual outcome.
And so that’s how I view this Saturday in between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. On this day, our response as Christians is especially critical. If I’m being dramatic, I would even say that it is the defining factor of whether or not we decide to continue our faith journey. Patience is hard, whether you’re a believer or a non-believer. Death is an immensely sorrowful human experience, and waiting for a resurrection, something that is by human definition, impossible, feels torturous. Our limited human perception of death as a permanent ending can leave us feeling hopeless, now that Jesus is not “here.” But if we truly believe the words that came out of Jesus’ own mouth + God’s promise to give us a way to be in relationship with Him forever, we will move forward in full faith and confidence that the story doesn’t just end at Good Friday. The eager awaiting of the fulfillment of God’s promise leads us to grow in our dependence and trust in Him.
In many ways, the emotions that we feel during Easter weekend parallel the emotions we feel in our current reality living with COVID-19. After the virus hit, we’ve all, no doubt, begun to question our identities and our futures. With plans being cancelled and things being taken away, it is easy to lose hope and lose a sense of your purpose in life. Now that my internship/job offer has been rescinded, now that I’ve lost my job, how am I supposed to proceed in my career? How am I supposed to live out what I’m supposed to do in life? You see, the impact of the virus kinda feels like the moment Jesus died, in that it is an incredibly painful moment that blinds us to any glimmer of hope.
This time of waiting that we are all experiencing at this very moment is just like the Saturday before Easter Sunday. The only thing we know right now is God’s promise to protect and love us. He doesn’t say how it will happen, He doesn’t say how long it will take. All He tells us is the end result- that Jesus is definitely coming back. And so, much like the Saturday before Easter Sunday, we have a very important decision to make. Will we allow this temporary pain and sadness to demolish our faith in God’s promise? Or will we choose hope and peace- looking forward to and having faith in the fulfillment of His promise, no matter how it plays out, no matter how long it will take?
The Saturday-before-Easter-Sunday is a somber day in which our faith will be tested for sure, but it’s also a day in which we can experience peace and joy as we wait patiently for our Savior’s triumphant return! Living in a time where COVID-19 is still very real can either be a cause to dwell in hopelessness, or it can be a cause to dwell in the joy and excitement we feel of Jesus’ return! My dear friends, how and where will you dwell in this time?
**If you have any Q’s about anything I wrote and/or want to know this Jesus I talked about, I invite you to shoot me a text/email/message! I would love to share more about how He’s changed my life, as well as the life of so many others. He is such a gift, and I want to share that with you!
xoxo,
JO (832-578-0897; jojochao7@gmail.com)