It is a dreary Saturday morning-

The Sabbath.

All is quiet in Jerusalem now.

The furor of the last few days has subsided.

Life’s become a fog.

For three years we walked with Jesus.

He taught us.

He gave hope-

Hope of overcoming rigid priestly codes

And the hated Roman oppression.

Oh, how we had hoped

For freedom and liberation.

We were looking for a Davidic messiah.

He came as a Suffering Servant.

We celebrated Passover.

He seemed so preoccupied.

We heard talk about betrayal and abandonment

But we asserted our undying loyalty,

“We will never abandon you.”

But, when the chips were down,

We fled into the night.

We scurried through the narrow streets

Dodging the security forces

Trying to find a safe place.

They arrested him in the Garden.

Judas-that traitor-betrayed him with a kiss.

Greed trumped goodness once again.

Peter reacted with his sword

And Jesus told him to put it away.

[He was telling every Christian

To put away the sword.]

The questioned him and “tried” him

In the dark of night in a secret jail.

False witnesses gave false testimony.

They dragged him to Pilate.

They scourged him, spat in his face,

Crowned him with thorns and humiliated him.

Kicking him and beating him,

They dragged him through the streets.

The nailed and tied him to a cross

Where he struggled and grasped for breath.

In great suffering and agony,

He called upon Abba God,

“Why have you forsaken me?”

Finally, he placed his complete trust in God,

“It is finished,”
“Into your hands I commend my sprit. ‘

They buried him quickly

Because of the Sabbath.

He now lies cold and dead and alone in that tomb.

It is over!

Our hopes are shattered.

Our dreams are dashed.

He is gone.

We miss him.

He was so loving, so gentle.

He had such compassion on the crowds.

Yet, he was courageous.

He spoke truth to power.

He came to liberate the oppressed

And they crucified him.

He came to give sight to the blind

And they could not see him.

He came to speak a word to the weary

And they could not hear him.

He told us to love our enemies

And to pray for those who persecute us.

He challenged us to feed the hungry,

To clothe the naked and shelter the homeless,

To care for the sick and visit the imprisoned,

And to welcome the stranger.

He was establishing a new world order.

He took on the powers and principalities

And they killed him.

He took on the cross.

He absorbed evil rather than inflict it.

He carried the pain of loss, separation,

And abandonment to death on the cross

He forgave his persecutors.

But now all seems to be lost.

Where do we go now?

The future is as dull and foggy as the morning.

He said he would meet us in Galilee.

He did talk about “In three days.”

Was that an empty promise?

For today maybe we should rest.

We should place our trust in God.

What Jesus did cannot have been in vain.

Today is a day to abandon

Ourselves into the arms of God-

A day to trust in God as he trusted in God.

As we encounter the darkness

And emptiness of the tomb,

We hope to find the same Love he found.

Son though he was,

He became human,

He grew in wisdom, age and grace.

He gradually entered into complete

And total contemplative union with Abba God.

He and Abba God became one.

Let us wait and see.

God has always been faithful.

In some way, we will know

That Jesus will live in his people.

Maybe we will reunite in Galilee

And carry on the mission.