14 - Black Saturday

Download as doc, pdf, or txt
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 2

(editorial for Black Saturday)

God’s Promise of A New Life

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

live with him.” (Romans 6:6-8)

Black Saturday invites us to remember God’s unfailing promise of rebirth to the

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.

You might also like