I was reading Leonard Sweet’s tweet this morning regarding Silent Saturday as it is often referred to, and I was reminded of the shock and grief that the disciples must have felt as they fled from the site of the crucifixion and suffered the remorse and guilt of seeing Jesus arrested and executed. Sudden loss has a way of freezing us at the moment. We need time to process. We need time to try and make sense of what’s happened, if there is any making sense!

Sweet reminded his readers that most of us have a “Silent Saturday” in our lives, where the suddenness of loss catches us off guard and we find ourselves, like the disciples, trying to make sense of the day.

I thought of the families that I journeyed with you had lost a child, a baby, a son, or a daughter. I thought about spouses who suddenly found themselves at home alone. Shock is too light a word for what these people face.

So where is hope? Where is reassurance? And what will the future look like?

Romans 5

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

The answer is actually in Sunday morning – the resurrection, the proof that God has broken the power of sin and death and we can know, despite what Paul calls our momentary troubles, that the present is not the future and loss is not the final circumstance. The Bible’s message is not just about forgiveness, it’s about the wholeness of life, about the redemptive work of God! When we talk about whole salvation, this is what we speak of. God does not just forgive our sins to let us live life in our own strength. No, the fullness of His salvation speaks to the fullness of His goodness in our lives and reminds us that He is recreating His creation.

From the pen of Gloria Gaither

I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven.
I’ll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my Father;
I am His child and I am not afraid.
So, greatly pardoned, I’ll forgive my brother;
The law of love I gladly will obey.

I then shall live as one who’s learned compassion.
I’ve been so loved, that I’ll risk loving too.
I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges;
I’ll dare to see another’s point of view.
And when relationships demand commitment,
Then I’ll be there to care and follow through.

Your Kingdom come around and through and in me;
Your power and glory, let them shine through me.
Your Hallowed Name, O may I bear with honor,
And may Your living Kingdom come in me.
The Bread of Life, O may I share with honor,
And may You feed a hungry world through me.