14 - Black Saturday
14 - Black Saturday
14 - Black Saturday
It was a real death that put an end to Jesus’ earthly human existence: It was now
about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because
of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus
cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"; and when he
had said this he breathed his last. (Lk 23:44-46) Jesus died in mid-afternoon of Friday, a
few hours before the beginning of a new and sacred day for the Jews: the Sabbath which
begins at 6:00 pm. Since the Jewish law permitted no work on the Sabbath, the followers
of Jesus had to quickly bury his dead body if they are able to secure permission from
Pilate. Roman authorities rarely grant permissions and the bodies of executed criminals
were usually left unburied as carrion for the vultures and dogs.
Jesus was spared this indignity through the gracious intervention of Joseph of
Arimethea. Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council that
condemned Jesus. Although he did not stand up for Jesus at his trial, he nonetheless,
sought to honor him in his death by giving him a proper burial: He went to Pilate and
asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body,
Joseph wrapped it clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock.
Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. (Mt.27:58-60)
This was to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah had foretold: "He was cut off out of the land of
the living …and they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:8-9).
So while the death of Jesus was very real, it nonetheless paved the way for a new kind of
existence for Jesus and all those who believed in him. Paul clearly pointed this out when
he said: “We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might
be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. For a dead person has
been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also
whole of humanity and the rest of His creation. Tonight’s Easter Vigil liturgy in majestic
scriptural proclamations formally reviews God’s blessings of renewal: from the blessings
of creation, to the blessings of salvation history, to the blessing of Jesus. Then with the
entire assembly — and with the soon to be initiated new members -- we are asked to
reaffirm our faith publicly: “Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of
heaven and earth? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord? Do you believe
in the Holy Spirit?” It is by responding “We do!” that we prove that we are ready to
celebrate the event precipitating newness of life for ourselves and for our planet: the
Resurrection.