Holy Saturday Meditation

 Holy Saturday Meditation

​Today is a time for meditating on the life of Christ, His passion and death, and on His decent to the dead, awaiting His resurrection.

Let us Remember:

Here on earth, Jesus’ disciples mourned his death while resting on the sabbath day. At the tomb, the guards who had been stationed there kept watch to make sure that the disciples did not steal Jesus’ body. While Christ’s body lay in the tomb, Christ descended to the dead to awaken those who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom. And Christ brings salvation to all. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 38: 10-14, 17-20

10 I said: In the noontide of my days, I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.

11 I said, I shall not see the Lord in the land of the living; I shall look upon mortals no more among the inhabitants of the world.

12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night you bring me to an end;

13 I cry for help until morning; like a lion he breaks all my bones; from day to night you bring me to an end.

14 Like a swallow or a crane I clamor, I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security!

15 But what can I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. All my sleep has fled because of the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by these things people live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh, restore me to health and make me live!

17 Surely it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but you have held back my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

18 For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

19 The living, the living, they thank you, as I do this day; fathers make known to children your faithfulness.

20 The Lord will save me, and we will sing to stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of the Lord.

 

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NRSV)

The prophet Ezekiel in a vision is transported to the Valley of Dry Bones, where God will take God restores Israel to new life.

37 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.

2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.

3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel.

They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’

12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.

14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.” 

Eternal God, breathe your Spirit upon us again and give new life to your people. Amen.

Today’s Reflection:

This poem written by Rev. Shannon Diana Keeney is a reflection of what the disciples might have felt, and what could have been going through their minds on this day. Holy Saturday, the second day: while the earth waited- while Christ’s body laid in stillness and silence of the tomb.

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“Just the other day Jesus, you were walking with us through the olive trees

We watched as you shared the love of God in the breeze

Together we had journeyed far across the hills

The way you helped and healed often gave me chills

Jesus my friend, my prophet, my teacher,

I thought you were my savior but you were just a convincing preacher

I watched from a safe distance as you were sentenced, and you died

We all left you on your own and watched while the women cried

It is too bad we had hoped you would take down the Romans

For there had been so many prophecies and omens

But no they crucified you like a thief

And now all we have left is our grief

You died I know it is true

So now to keep myself safe I say - “Jesus Who?”

It is all too much for me

So I do what I always did before Jesus…I flee

When times get tough And I have had enough I say “that is it!”

I am afraid, confused, angry, sad, that is too much for one day

So I run, walk, and high tail it away

Jesus had told me to hope

But right now, I can’t even cope

I have got to get out of this place

Then maybe I will find some breathing space.”

While Jesus’s body laid in the silence and stillness of the cold, dark tomb, all the earth waited. Yet, Christ was alive. Though his body remained in the tomb, His soul was in the realm of the dead: declaring victory over death and proclaiming the fulfillment of God’s promise for salvation to those awaiting the promised Messiah since Adam. In Christ’s decent into Sheol, the Hebrew word for the abode of the dead, Christ awakened those who rested in the bosom of Abraham. Having died in the flesh, all of God’s people had been held captives of death- spirits in prison in Sheol.

In our Old Testament reading, we heard the prophesy of Ezekiel: a promise of deliverance from death and being raised to new life. A promise we see fulfilled in Matthew 27:50-53: “

50 Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.

52 The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

53 After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.

John 5:25 also states:

25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

Paul tells us that before Jesus “ascended” into Heaven, He first “descended into the lower regions.” Ephesians 4:9-10 states,

9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)

1 Peter 3:19 specifically tells us that

19 He [Jesus] went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,

And each time we recite the Apostles creed, we recall that Jesus “descended to the dead”.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises made to send a Messiah into the world, and He is the fulfilment of all of Scripture, for all of time. Sent to be the light of the world, He rescues us from darkness and sin. Defying death Christ changed everything. Let us celebrate Christ’s victory over death in the words of First Corinthians 15:55

19 Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

Would you pray with me:

Eternal God, just as you raised Your only Son. breathe upon us a fresh breath of the Spirit to renew our lives in faith and in love. In Jesus Christ our Redeemer’s name we pray. Amen.

 

Apostles Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary.

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

He ascended to heaven.

is seated at the right hand the Father,

and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic* church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

 

Take a moment for Silent Prayer and Reflection. When you are ready recite the words our Lord and Savior taught us in The Lord’s Prayer.

 

The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father who art in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy name;

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us;

Lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Almighty, eternal God, whose only begotten Son

Descended into the realm of the dead,

And who rose from death into new life for Your glory,

Grant that Your faithful people

Who were buried with him in baptism,

May obtain eternal life in him by his resurrection.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

 

Blessing:

May the Lord prepare our Hearts, opening them to a fresh breath of the Spirit’s renewal of life as we vigilantly await the coming of our resurrected Lord and Savior. Prepare us Eternal One to welcome the Risen Christ and to celebrate with joy on Easter Sunday morning. May God’s peace and love be will you. Amen