Trampling Down Death

Holy Saturday

Opening

Let's begin with a moment of silence, centering our minds, bodies, and hearts upon the Lord our God.

Quote

“I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith

But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.” -T.S. Eliot

Reflection

Holy Saturday has always been a strange day for me. Lent is technically over, but Easter is not yet here. The death of Christ has been remembered but not His resurrection. If God or the early church had consulted someone before arranging the calendar, they might have been told, “Better to strike while the iron is hot. Just when everyone’s emotions at Jesus’ death are at their highest pitch—the next day is the time to celebrate the Resurrection.”

Instead, we have this in-between space, the Sabbath when Jesus’ body rested, a hiatus between mourning and celebration. What should we do with it?

Early Christians associated this day with Christ’s descent to Sheol, or Hades, where, in Peter’s words, He “preached even to those who are dead,” freeing righteous souls by conquering death from the inside: “trampling down death by death.” The Bible doesn’t spell this out, but whatever Christ’s soul was doing while He lay entombed, it remained separate from His body. This is the time when Christ was dead. And, unless He died (and stayed dead for a space of time), Christ could not overturn death itself. In many ways, then, part of our redemption occurs today, for most of us will also spend time separate from our bodies.

But Holy Saturday also feels awkward because it symbolizes the uncertain place most of us occupy. Like Jesus’ cowering or scattered followers (or the writer of Lamentations), we do not understand what God is invisibly doing when He dashes our hopes. We’re confused about the shattered images of God in our lives, good things that have been broken and buried. Scriptures bear witness that even in confusion, we can trust that He has defeated death, even if we do not notice it yet. As we trust, we must wait.

Prayer

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the coming of the third day, and rise with Him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Reflective Practice

Find an icon of the Resurrection or the Harrowing of Hell and draw or trace it, meditating on it as you do so.

Closing

If you would like to dive deeper into the themes of this devotional, you are invited to continue by listening to today's Scripture passages, giving thanks to God for His word, and asking Him to write it upon our hearts.

Go in peace today, and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.