The rich gift we often miss

Holy Saturday. Silent Saturday. The Sabbath that prevent the women from getting to the tomb of Jesus...
Today, Saturday is often errand day-- picking up the ham for Easter lunch, finding last minute goodies for Easter baskets, being sure we are stocked up with enough candy.
There's nothing wrong with errands. But I think we miss the richness of the day.
Maybe we, somewhat like the early disciples, are worn out with the heaviness and gore of the crucifixion. We feel a need for a break and welcome the reprieve. Nothing wrong with that, either unless it causes us to miss the gift of the day.
I say this is important because, of all the three days commemorating the Pascal Mystery, I say that most of us live in Saturday. There are some people who are in Friday's vise grip of suffering, persecution, pain and sorrow. And there are some people who are feeling the Easter healing, rebirth and joyful fullness of life that we see in the springtime world around us. But most of us live in Saturday--that in-between time when life has hurt us, defeated us, broken us but before we see how God is going to use that for good. The person who has had a family member who has died, the person who has lost their job, the person who has been betrayed in their marriage. They are the Saturday people. And that's why we shouldn't miss the great message of Saturday.
Saturday is the day when God is working in powerful though not-yet-visible ways. On Saturday, God was already working to redeem the hopelessly cruel, horrible death of Jesus. By the time the women got to the tomb, Jesus was already gone. It was Sunday before they saw what God had done -- and even longer before they grasped the full scope of resurrection. Saturday is the time for us all to remember that God is at work long before we can see it.
That shouldn't be such a surprise. Long before Christmas morning, I am dreaming and working on gifts for my family. When we get together, we see the fruit of love that has been in the making for a long time. Why are we so reticent to believe that God is powerfully at work until we see it?
John Wesley eloquently described God's Saturday working as prevenient grace: the grace that goes before. Although we don't usually recognize it except in hindsight, we believe in faith that God is going ahead of us. And the crucifixion is the reminder that God's grace can redeem even the worst that the world can bring.
Easter morning, we will wake to celebrate the resurrection that is revealed at the empty tomb. But most of our lives are spent in Saturday time where we need to have faith in God's work even though it is not yet visible.