Holy Saturday Devotion – Pastor Erick Thompson
O Lord, Remember me in my tomb!
Mark 15:42-47
When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.
Sadly, death has become part of the American narrative. Yet, in the midst of our stay at home orders and social distancing, I think we distance ourselves from talking about death. We don’t talk about it probably because we don’t live where many have died from the coronavirus. But, the Christian message addresses what happens when we die. As Christians, we claim the promise of eternal life, but death will precede the fulfillment of this promise. Still, for so many of us, death is not something we talk about, and when a loved one dies, we immediately imagine that they are in heaven. My guess is that this prevents us from having to deal with the reality of death.
In the text for today’s devotional, we read about those who took Jesus’ body and placed it in the tomb. Death is quite near for them. They had to physically take Jesus’ body down and wrap it in linen. The women who followed to see where his body was laid were preoccupied with how to honor his dead body. Jesus is laid in a tomb, and yet, is not forgotten. If we contemplate our own mortality, do we think about if we will be forgotten when we die?
On this Holy Saturday, I encourage you to reflect that someday you may also utter these words, “O Lord, remember me in my tomb.” When you do, I hope you will be drawn back to Holy Saturday; the entire day that Jesus lay dead in his tomb. It is not only in life that we are united with Christ, but in death as well. As our God laid dead in a tomb, he was joined with our deaths, whenever they may happen. Eventually, thoughts of death will creep slowly into our lives, but our desperate plea for God to remember us in our tombs will be answered with God’s eternal shout of “YES!” A proclamation that echoes through our lives day after day, so that even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we can know that our Lord is with us always; that even in our tombs we will not be forgotten.
Prayer: Dearest Jesus, remember me in my tomb! I know that your death has freed me from sin and death, and yet, I still need to hear your promise again and again. Give me grace and faith so that I may be comforted in my moments of despair, so that I may begin to trust in you and your loving presence. Amen.
