Saturday, March 30, 2013

Easter Vigil: The Long Wait til Morning


The women who had been companions of Jesus from Galilee followed along. They saw the tomb where Jesus' body was placed. Then they went back to prepare burial spices and perfumes. They rested quietly on the Sabbath, as commanded. Luke 23: 55-56, The Message Bible

Jesus has just died, his body has been laid to rest in a borrowed tomb. His disciples have gone quietly away, to reflect and talk amongst themselves about what has happened. The women, however – as women have evidently done for millennium – have work to do. They know that the body needs to be prepared for a proper burial, but the long events of Good Friday, have led right up to sunset, the beginning of the Sabbath. Jewish law strictly forbid anyone from doing any work on the Sabbath. The women went home from the cross at sunset on Friday and waited patiently until sunrise on Sunday to return to the tomb to take care of the body of their Master.

What did they do on that Saturday, as the hours stretched on? They no doubt were busy in prayer. They certainly talked, in hushed whispers, fearful of the Jewish leaders who had put their Lord to death. They shed a few tears. And they waited.

We have to wait too. And the wait seems long at times. As we wait for the return of our Lord and Savior. But we know He is coming again! We know what to expect in the morning. 
My daugther waiting for the sunset at Saikeri, Kenya. 


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