So often we focus only on Good Friday and Easter Sunday but ignore the day in between the two. For us, Holy Saturday is an awkward insert which we wish it isn't there.
I wonder how the disciples felt on the day when Jesus died. In a sudden turn of events, their beloved Lord was taken away from them, suffered cruelly, crucified violently, died painfully and buried hurriedly all within a day. There was no funeral, no chance to mourn over His body, there was a lack of proper closure. Shock, confusion, disappointment and unanswered questions must have enveloped each one of them.
Yet God appointed a day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday where the disciples are to linger in their pain and questions. This however is not cruelty but compassion in action. It is not God ignoring their pain but giving space for it. For a Christianity without a Holy Saturday would have been a religion where there is no room for sorrow and doubt.
Perhaps some of us are going through a season of grief, pain, confusion, disappointment, with unanswered questions. We want relief, answers and deliverance to come immediately. Yet we find ourselves stuck in a zone of suspense and sorrow, like the Holy Saturday.
Holy Saturday exists so that those who struggle with pain and questions may know that they are not ignored. Holy Saturday is a day where God validates every pain and and unanswered question. It is God saying that His heart is big enough to host our pain and doubts.
At Holy Saturday, God invites us to wait patiently for Him to come through with His promises.