"From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27: 45-46 records these as Jesus' last words before his death.
Why did Jesus quote from Psalm 22? Psalm 22 is a Psalm of Lament, a heart-wrenching, gut-twisting, soul-searching invitation for God to take this pain away, or at least make it bearable (if not understandable). On Holy Saturday, the Church continues in prayer, waiting with the women at the Lord’s tomb. We wait. We wonder. We weep. Waiting is such difficult work, ...especially when when our waiting struggles to understand the pain of death.
Holy Saturday is also a day time reflection. We long for Easter and Resurrection, but it’s not quite time yet. As difficult as it is, there is something healing about waiting. Sometimes, while we wait, we become bold like the Psalmist opening our hearts and souls to share the depth of our sorrow and pain. We find ourselves open to God in ways that seemed unthinkable before.
I wonder what Jesus’ friends and family did as they waited that first Holy Saturday? Did they pray? Did they go to the Temple? Did they gather together? Scripture offers no information or insight, but I can't help but wonder. Maybe they just prayed and wondered, prayed and asked that God might somehow, someway help this awful pain go away.
Tomorrow we celebrate. Today we wait. May the Lord hear our cries. May the Lord bless our greiving. May the Lord hold us close.
Lord of all that is and was and ever will be, wait with us on this day. Hold us close and remind us again that your love never ends. Amen.
-Rich Greenway
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