Let's imagine the situation in the community of disciples thousands of years ago. Jesus the Teacher died on the cross. The situation became very chaotic. One by one, the disciples went into hiding. Securing themselves from the Jewish religious leaders who might want to wipe out Jesus' influence. Only a handful of women remained with Him until the end. Taking care of the body and rushing to bury Him because the Sabbath would soon arrive. That Sabbath felt so different because the Master was gone. It brought to mind His message that the Son of Man would suffer and die, because that was how He would fulfil His mission. He even said that on the third day, He would rise. These memories gave birth to seeds of hope, but in the midst of all the chaos and loss, there was doubt as to whether this would happen. It's an uncomfortable feeling that's hard to explain.
In this imaginative reimagining, there is a meaning to be lived and communicated through Saturday Silence. The service becomes an in-between point or threshold space that presents an inevitable crisis. Jesus has died on the cross, but He has not risen. Interestingly, the tradition, history, and liturgy of the church do not lead us to go straight through that discomfort and into resurrection. Instead, believers are invited to live the in-between space and the crisis as an integral part of living the resurrection.
The Jesus who died is a Jesus who is understood to be struggling and fighting death. In death, He affirmed His commitment to remain in the suffering and struggle experienced by humanity. Those who participated in His death experienced hope even in the toughest point of life. At least that is what is reflected through a reading of 1 Peter 4:1-8. A theologian named Hans Urs von Balthasar once said that if Jesus was in solidarity with the living on earth, then when he was in the tomb, he was in solidarity with the dead. Jesus' death was like a new exodus. The journey was from death, down into the world of the dead, and then up. From darkness to new life.
The events of life, death, and resurrection are the full outline of God's work in Jesus. It includes the hope that slowly grows in the time between his death and resurrection. It's an in-between space that may be uncomfortable but we know the hope that has been provided in the not-too-distant future. That is the meaning we can see in Saturday Silence. It also gives us the strength to face these crisis-filled times. Various struggles and challenges of life are on display. Crises are there for us to face, but in faith in His resurrection, the struggle is travelled with the Christ. He who is so loving that he willingly embraced death and was raised by God to proclaim hope to the world.
Reflective questions: How have you been living the moments of Saturday Silence? Has it reformed your faith in the Christ?
