Journey Through Holy Week With the Archbishop of Canterburyናሙና

After the drama of Good Friday, Holy Saturday can feel oddly empty. What now? There are the practical arrangements to be made for Jesus’ burial. A man named Joseph of Arimathea asks for Jesus’ body and places it in a tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph can only watch to see where it is laid – they must wait until after the Sabbath before they can anoint Jesus’ body.

Indeed, waiting is a theme of this strange, in-between day. Mark tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was 'waiting for the kingdom of God.' We, who know what is coming on Easter Sunday, are waiting for the joy of that day to arrive.

In many ways, the waiting of Holy Saturday reflects our everyday experience as we seek to follow Jesus on his way of peace. We live in-between the beginning of God’s good creation and his final restoration of all things. As Jesus did, we live in a world of relational breakdown and geopolitical wars, of heartbreak and climate crisis. We perhaps identify with St. Paul when he writes that:

‘the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth’.
(Romans 8:22)

God, who in Jesus makes ‘all things new,' is at work to restore all things – but this isn’t yet complete and we are invited to join in. So, with Joseph of Arimathea and the two Marys for company, we wait – and act – in hope.

Let’s take a moment to pause and reflect:

• In what ways are you ‘waiting for the kingdom of God’? What renewal or healing do you long to see in your own life or in your community?
• What are the signs of hope you see in your community? Are there ways you could join in?