Holy Saturday Rest

“Let us strive to enter into that rest.” Hebrew 4:11

It’s been a pretty hectic few days. On Holy Thursday morning, I prepared haroseth, mixing apples, raisins, walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, and sweet red wine in a bowl. At a Seder meal, haroseth symbolizes the mortar which the Israelites used to bind the stones and bricks in their back breaking work for their Egyptian masters. Haroseth has been a symbolic part of the Jewish Passover for at least 2,000 years.

At 4 pm, we prepared several Seder meal plates, using bones from goats we’ve accumulated through years of celebrating Seder, bitter herbs, the haroseth, eggs, salt water and unleavened bread. At about 5 pm, our family with about 15 guests started the Seder, had a festive meal, and then left for the Holy Thursday liturgy which started at 8 pm. 

Yesterday, we attended a Good Friday recollection from 1-5 pm. One of my takeaways was from Jake Yap’s presentation from Saint Augustine’s homily: “ Of ourselves we had no power to live, nor did He of Himself have the power to die.

In other words, He performed the most wonderful exchange with us. Through us, He died; through Him, we shall live.”

Live. One of the gifts of real living that God wants to give us is the promise of rest. In Hebrews 4:1, the writer says, “God’s promise of entering His place of rest still stands.” Today, Holy Saturday is a day of rest after two days of blessed busyness. There is no mass today until the Easter vigil tonight. So we wait with the disciples, with Jesus’ mother, with all the faithful. Jesus’ body lies in the tomb, but we know in faith, that we do not wait in vain. Today, like all the times we wait for God’s answer to our prayers, we wait in hope and faith. God is working. Even if all others see is the tomb, we know the tomb is empty and our Savior lives. We can rest gratefully in that truth.