Post by Don Gieseke on Apr 11, 2020 8:37:26 GMT -6
S.M. Lockridge has the famous sermon of “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!” which is well worth the listen/watch, and Tony Campolo’s version is good as well. (Campolo has an earlier longer version available here. It’s about 50 minutes long and is fantastic).
The gist is that …well … It’s Friday, filled with death and sadness and what seems like the last word.
But Sunday’s coming!
And don’t get me wrong, this is great, and I said the phrase “It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming” a thousand times yesterday, and each time I heard Tony Campolo screaming in my head.
But can you imagine how long Saturday was?
That Saturday must have been a day of crushing disappointment. It was a time when promises had been made but were not yet fulfilled. Jesus said he would come back. He had said death wouldn’t be the end of the story. He had promised that if the temple of his body were to be torn down, it would be rebuilt. But it hadn’t risen yet . . . Saturday was filled with nothing but loss. Jesus’ body lay dead, decaying and cold.
That’s what Saturday was. Saturday was this day of loss. Friday was shocking, filled with pain. But I agree with Levi Lusko that we often overlook Saturday. Friday the wounds were given, Saturday the pain was lingering. Friday seemed bad sure, but how much worse was Saturday? Think about it, if you cut yourself accidentally, what’s worse? The moment the knife cuts the skin, or the moments after when the pain settles in?
Levi goes on to say that “for the disciples, Saturday lasted way. too. long. For some of them, it was too much to handle”. Going back to the knife analogy, as you wait for the pain to heal of the cut, it feels like forever. Anything healing seems like forever. I have two tattoos, and if you don’t know, when they heal (because you’re getting stabbed a billion times, so there’s going to be damage), they get REALLY itchy, but you can’t itch them or else you’ll potentially ruin the artwork you paid good money for. They also start to flake, and whereas my habit is to pick at it, you can’t. And this healing period lasts roughly 7-10 days. As you go through that healing process, it feels like forever. Now, a year or two later (depending on the tattoo), I don’t really remember much of the healing process, it feels like just a moment.
“We are today living in the spirit of an extended Saturday”. Every moment we go through of pain, and loss, and constant wrestling with that feeling of their needing to be something more, is because we aren’t quite at the something more yet. If you’ve spent any time in the Church, you know the phrase “The already but not yet” which is our way of talking about God’s kingdom. The more I study scripture, the more I realize how accurate that statement is. In John 17:3 Jesus prays “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (ESV). If knowing God is eternal life, and we’re able to know God through prayer and devotion now, then why wait until we die for eternity to start? But we’re still here in that in-between before Jesus comes back and fulfills the promise. That’s when the kingdom comes in full. We have the initial promise, that Jesus will come back(Sunday), but since he’s ascended to the right hand of God (Friday), we’re still here on Earth waiting for Sunday (Saturday).
Saturday is
* When a child knows he will meet his dad in heaven someday . . . but right now can only look at pictures.
* when a person with paralysis has the promise of a new body free of wheelchairs and numbness . . . but still has to struggle through years on end in the body she’s in.
* when families celebrate birthdays and holidays . . . but feel the weight of the empty chair at the table
When I read that part, I broke. It had been a year since my mom died, and there’s always that empty spot at the table. I know that it won’t always be that way, but it’s Saturday, and we have no idea when Sunday will be. I know there are promises about Sunday, but it’s Saturday, and the pain is there.
I want to give more examples of Saturday. Saturday is living paycheck to paycheck and hoping you can make ends meet. Saturday is going without so your kids can have. Saturday is dealing with mistakes that you’ve made. Saturday is everything wrong in the world. Saturday is this long, long, day.
But you know what the difference is between our Saturday and the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter? They didn’t know Sunday was coming, I mean they should have because Jesus spoke about it enough, but they didn’t really know. We know that Sunday came, and the tomb was empty (Praise the Lord). We’re waiting for Sunday, but because that Sunday happened, and Jesus rose from the grave, Saturday for us has grace. Not just grace, but grace upon grace, upon grace. I mean, free grace, rivers of free grace, oceans of free grace that have broken down every damn (I highly recommend listening to both songs).
Saturday for us may have empty spots at tables, but not emptiness in our hearts. Through the death and resurrection, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is with us always. He knows about Saturday, he lived it (and was dead during it). The mistakes that you’ve made? Forgiven. There’s endless grace in the Sunday that we’re celebrating tomorrow. Saturday doesn’t have to be miserable. It shouldn’t be miserable. The kingdom is here. It’s already, but it’s not yet.
Saturday in the Bible is interesting. Saturday was the day that Chief Priests and Pharisees tried to do what they could to stop the disciples from making it seem as though Jesus had resurrected when he hadn’t (although he would) by securing the tomb with a large rock (that was rolled away on Sunday) (Mt. 28:63-66). Nothing could stop Jesus from coming back, despite what Saturday brought. Luke’s only mention of Saturday was that “on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment” (Lk. 23:56 ESV). How long was that day of rest? Waiting to see if Jesus would do as he said he would. John mentions that the disciples didn’t yet understand that Jesus was to rise from the dead (Jn. 20:9). Neither Mark or John mention anything about Saturday.
What the gospels mention of Sunday, though, tells us a bit more about the time in-between, the time of waiting, Saturday. In the waiting, they were together, and discussed (Lk. 24:13-15). They were reclining at tables (Mk. 16:14), undoubtedly grieving still, despite having heard that Jesus HAD indeed risen (although, we’re getting outside of “Saturday”).
The point is, when they didn’t know if Jesus had risen or not, while they were waiting for the third day, they were gathered together, breaking bread, observing the sabbath.
Don’t feel like Saturday can be done alone, or should be done alone, community is important. It’s how the disciples coped with Saturday. You don’t have to be sad and solemn when with people either because Jesus already conquered death! Jesus wants us to be joyful! We can be joyful because on Sunday he rose from the grave. We can be joyful because we know this isn’t it. It is, but it isn’t. We can be joyful because we have been given grace upon grace, and it was free. There’s nothing we have to do besides believe.
We have a living Savior, so we have a living hope. God is like an elephant when it comes to his promises. He never forgets. Jesus will come back. We will get to see our Savior’s face. What the enemy has destoryed will be restored. We will walk on streets of Gold.
I know Saturday is tough, but have no fear. Sunday came bringing with it free grace and righteousness that we didn’t earn, and Sunday is coming, to end this long Saturday.
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