Saturday April 23, 2011

Holy Saturday

1 Peter 3:18-20

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water."

That's quite a thought isn't it: eight people in the whole world worthy of being saved. And yes, the earth's population wasn't what it is now, but eight's a pretty small number for that sort of thing - any way you slice it. Hell, when the number is "how many get to live" 8 out of 9 can seem a pretty small number.

But eight, in the whole world, could pull it together on their own enough to be good enough to survive the Flood. No wonder we needed God to come down. No wonder we needed Him to die and rise again.

I've had some discussions recently about whether or not it should take as much work and ceremony as it did for Dan to become a member of the Catholic Church - but I can't think of a different process that would have drawn so much of his community here in Staunton out to Waynesboro tomorrow morning to support him. Besides the usual three of myself, Amanda and Dan there is Linden, Amanda, Asae and her husband Eddie, and Jeff and Megan Chips. And more will be waiting back in Staunton for us to have a celebratory brunch. And yes, Jeff and Megan go on a weekly basis on their own, but it's nice to see us drawn back together for this. And lapsed Catholic Eddie joining us (or no-longer Catholic Eddie? I am not sure, is that what "lapsed Catholic" means?).

And I think it wouldn't have meant as much to Dan - would have felt like just a thing. Father Rolo was big on that - changing religions should be a big deal. It should have meaning and it should take work, and you should understand what you are now saying that you believe, what you are now identifying with. I get that.

It's a lot like why God didn't just say, "Okay, now you are forgiven." Because it should take work, it should take love. If we can't muster it, if only eight people in the world are even worthy of continuing to try to muster it, then we need the help of God Himself. But it should have weight and heft.

It should have a Saturday in the tomb. Jesus shouldn't just die then leap up and say, "Hey, guys, don't freak out." There has to be the Saturday, to draw his disciples and apostles and friends together. To draw them together, supporting each other, before their joy can be given. Before their salvation can be completed. Before they can join the new world order, the new religion, that is about to finally be born with the Resurrection.

It has to take time. There's work you have to do, building and ark and accustoming yourself to His death, so that the Resurrection can be the gift that it is. Otherwise it looks too silly for us to believe it's real. Otherwise it's a magic trick. Holy Saturday is what helps us to understand the gravity, the weight, the importance of Good Friday and Easter Sunday both. RCIA and Sundays with an hour and a half of driving time to head to a church twice when we're all bone-weary from classes and work and theses make this Sunday mean something.

And yes, it would anyway. But not like this. It wouldn't be as real without the work, without the weight, without the sorrowful Saturday.

Dear Lord, help me to remember when times are hard that all things have their purpose. Help me to find what message You have for me in every time, good bad hard and just confusing, that You send me. Be with everyone who died today.