Victor or Victim?

I will write each day about some aspect of Holy week, according to the Scriptural references that record Jesus’ last days on earth.   I will not interpret Jesus’s thoughts and action but will instead take the point of view of an observer to these singular events, puzzling, wondering and discovering insights that may illuminate our own walk through Holy Week.

Today’s scripture is Luke: 23:50-56

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the council, a good and upright man who had not consented to their decision and action.  He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.  Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.  It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.  Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.  But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the Commandment.

The Sabbath was a day of rest.  For Jesus’ followers, that Sabbath was a time to mourn.  They may have had a glimmer of hope about Jesus’ promises to establish his Kingdom but witnessing his death and the placing of the body in the tomb surely dimmed those hopes, if not extinguished them entirely. They were unsure and afraid.  Still, they remained faithful and desired to minister to Jesus even after his death.  Joseph of Arimathea, the three Marys (Mary Magdalene, Mary Clopas, Mary Salome), and other unnamed grieving believers waited, but not necessarily for a miracle.   Joseph offered a tomb for a body.  The Marys gathered spices to anoint a body.  On Saturday as they rested, the world looked hopeless and dim. To them, Jesus was an innocent victim whose life was cruelly cut short.   

Our perspective on this Saturday is much different.  We see that day from “the Easter side” as a precursor to glory. We may want to skip this necessary time of waiting and jump to the events of a miraculous morning.  To us, Jesus is an unqualified victor, over death, yes, but also over hatred and vindictiveness.  We don’t have to wonder and wait with no assurance of blessing. And yet… this day is not just a “filler” before the day of Resurrection. There are still a few things to learn on this eve of Easter.

Victor or Victim?  This tile depicts one hand reaching up towards a healing and bright future, and one hand reaching down in defeat, mired in old patterns of thinking and acting.  The Easter person that I am wants to leap over Saturday and jump straight into celebration and praise. There was a reason that Holy Week for the believers to wait that extended beyond the Sabbath day restrictions mentioned in the scripture. In this in-between day as they talked and relived the previous days, they planned one final act of kindness towards Jesus.  They did not run away or cower in fear but determinedly returned to serve Jesus’ one last time. Joyfully, it was not the end, but the beginning of a spiritual adventure for them that continues to this day.

 This Saturday is a necessary day for us as well. As we wait and talk and relive the events of this past week, there are still some questions to ponder on this last day of our Lenten journey together.  Will a spirit of victory characterize our days as we move forward through Easter and beyond?  Will we adopt a victim mentality, one that is characterized by fear and hopelessness and pulled down by the harsh reality of these times? Will we find a way to serve even while we wonder and doubt and hope?

O God of Holy Saturday, during times of decision and doubt, give us insight and courage.  When we falter, infuse us with strength.  In times of uncertainty, send us certainty. Help us to reach towards the bountiful future You desire for us. Thank you for the Victory of a Blessed Life here and now that spreads on into the future. Amen.

Today is the final day of Lent, and the last entry in our Lenten Art Calendar.  Thank you for being a part of this journey. It is my hope and my prayer that each of you has found value and inspiration in these daily entries.  In the coming weeks, I’ll be blogging on a semi-regular basis. Let’s continue to connect in the Tender Places where we encounter the Divine in our everyday lives.