The Tomb Is Sealed
Christ is dead, the empire killed him in the worst possible way. Earlier in the week they shouted Hosanna, save us, as he entered into the city, and now he was dead.
Matthew 27:59-61
59. Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60. and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.
61. Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
Joseph of Arimathea cared for Jesus’ body and buried him. According to Eusebius, Arimathea is Ramah, the birthplace of the prophet Samuel. As Samuel anointed David to be king, Joseph is preparing Jesus for the grave.
Luke 23:55-56
55. The women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid.
56. They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
The Stillness of Hesychia
On the Sabbath they rested. The word used there is the root of the word hesychia, which is a powerful form of meditation. Hesychasm is a form of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church that focuses on inner stillness and repeating a short prayer, usually “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” Practitioners sit quietly, breathe slowly, and gently bring their attention inward, letting distracting thoughts pass without engaging them. Over time, the prayer becomes constant within them, leading to a deep sense of peace and awareness of God’s presence. Hesychasm is important because it teaches that anyone can experience God directly through simple, focused prayer, not just through study or ritual.
While these women were not Hesychasts, the still, quiet reflection of Sabbath is the root of this practice, and one can only imagine the fear, pain, and terror they struggled with on that day.
God Is Dead, and We Have Killed Him
In our own day, we can say that God is dead, and we have killed him. As we have allowed the vital Presence of God to be transformed into the other, beyond us, granting his approval and blessing to every evil empire could conceive, the presence of God was lost and the idea of God is tarnished in the minds of so many.
On this day, we mourn not only the death of Christ, but the death of God in the world today. We pray with the Psalmist:
Psalms 88:3-6
3. For my soul is full of troubles. My life draws near to Sheol.
4. I am counted among those who go down into the pit. I am like a man who has no help,
5. set apart among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more. They are cut off from your hand.
6. You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
When everything collapses, there is time before the restoration starts. The way has to be cleared so the old can be removed so there is space for the new to be built. In that time, we feel lost, abandoned. If we do not surround ourselves with our community, we feel alone. Dread, the poison empire injects into us, seeps into our souls. At our best, we enter a time of grounded presence to prepare ourselves for the work ahead.
Cheap Grace and the Crucifixion We Repeat
God is not actually absent. The God who is only out there is dead. Trust in the message we have about God is dead. The cheap grace offered by the evangelical movement that offers membership in a club without asking people to live the transformed life we are called to that changes the world has killed God to many who believe they are faithful. To much of the world, the God proclaimed by empire is not only dead, but indistinguishable from the God we live.
As the Evangelicals make their God’s not dead movies, they continue to drive nails into the body of Christ by ignoring his message and the way he taught us to live in this world.
We have to sit like those disciples in hesychia, resting in the presence of God so we can live the love of God into the world so others will want to know the source of our strength, joy, and compassion. If we do not embrace the peace of the Sabbath and keep ourselves strong for the work, we are no good to ourselves and others and the grace of God will trickle into the world instead of being the flood we can make it.
It is in the silence of the Via Negativa that we make space for the new to grow in us and in the world. We cannot ignore the power of this path in our lives.
The Great Sabbath: Resistance and Renewal
Holy Saturday is the great Sabbath. It is a time to join in community, resisting dread through joy and celebration. Take time to sit in stillness and recharge in the ever-present Light of God. This is how we prepare ourselves to take action in the world, spreading joy, release, grace, and celebration in the world.
Even though we know how this story ends, this is a time for us to contemplate how God and Christ continue to be killed in the minds and hearts of others. It is a day to see the spirit of Antichrist that refuses to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, take in the homeless, those who continue to oppress, crush, and divide others for their own power and wealth’s sake. We don’t need to pretend; we only have to read the headlines and see these things happening all around us.
Do Not Be Deceived, Do Not Be Divided, Do Not Despair
Don’t be deceived into believing imagined slights. Immigrants are not taking our jobs; the wealthy are extracting our wealth for themselves. No matter how many charities they start, they are performing benevolence to cover their sins.
Don’t be divided because people live or believe differently. Unity cannot exist in a group that is all the same. That is conformity, not unity. Real unity arises from bringing our diversity together in common cause to work together without requiring everyone to be the same.
Don’t fall victim to the dread they sow among us like so many weeds. Dread allows them to frack our souls so they can extract our labor, wealth, and compliance. Defeat despair with joy that remembers that when we are together, we can take care of one another.
The Sabbath Is for Us
We live life like a mutually interactive verb. We learn this from the Sabbath. If we take care of the Sabbath, the Sabbath will take care of us. The Sabbath is for us. It is a day dedicated to rest, renewal, and reconnection. We come together around the table to share our lives, one with another, so we can experience the wholeness we are called to live in the world.
The Sabbath is our heaven on earth where we welcome in the Shekhinah, the presence of God, to share our tables and lives so we don’t forget to do this every other day of the week. On Sabbath, we enact the kin-dom we spread through our thoughts, words, and deeds.