Holy Saturday

There is no mass offered today, so no dedicated daily readings. We are waiting, like Mary the mother of Christ, the disciples, and the women, in silence and stillness for something to happen. 

Perhaps we wait for some explanation, some clarity, about what really happened on Good Friday. How can God die? The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously stated that “Gott ist tot”. “God is dead”. He claimed that because of the Enlightenment, the so called “Age of Reason”, the possibility that God exists was eliminated. 

Today, we see how many prefer to live their lives as if God does not exist. We do not want to be “controlled” by old fashioned values, we prefer a truth that is relative, and we want our minds to be unfettered. We choose to put our faith in our capabilities, talents and resources. When before it was commonplace to believe in a personal God, these days it is a radical notion. Or we see people who want to compartmentalize God. When I make comments on social media about how I am praying that people will see the truth, or that I want God to intervene in what is happening in our country, I get many comments to the effect that I should just relegate God to Church, and I should not include God in conversations.

But God can not be stuffed into a box of our own making. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. No matter what people think or say, God will be victorious. We need only to watch and anticipate with hope, a palpable hope that beats with every thump of our heart. And so in silence, we wait.