John 19:38-42
"Holy" Saturday - Years A, B, C
John 19:38-42 or Matthew 27:57-66
Nicodemus comes bearing the Magi gift of Myrrh. Bringing more than can be used, a prodigal amount. This is our last encounter with Nicodemus. He has questioned Jesus and stood up for Jesus' judicial rights. Now he comes as a disciple to care for his body.
When was this latest switch made? It wasn't a post-resurrectional experience. How close to the cross did it come? Did he hear the affirmation of the centurion? Did he see Jesus bind Mary and a disciple together as new family?
This is a day of reflecting on what we have come to. What do you come up with regarding your own life? Is it time to huddle in fear, to run away, to chop off more ears, to address what needs addressing so health will flourish as long a possible?
Hopefully this day of waiting will bring with it a particular action that will demonstrate our discipleship in the most difficult of situations - while bereft.
http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2005/march2005.html
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Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing, a live thing out of a dead thing? Certainly not a magician. Certainly not positive thinking or prosperity theology. Certainly not an acculturated church. Certainly not individual faith.
It is important at some point to give up hope, to have dead be dead. This day we don't even wait. We go through motions. We become the walking dead.
Yesterday was bad enough. Today is badder yet. Tomorrow will be worser than anything. The end of all things is near. I wouldn't believe a proclamation of good news if it were yelled in my face.
Peter with his "disciplined prayers" and "constant love covering a multitude of sins" can go hang himself with Judas. If there is a next generation, they might listen to that but, today, it's most unreal.
http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html
As usual with two accounts, there are similarities and differences between the tellings. The major difference is the Matthean addition about guarding the tomb for fear that the disciples would be as duplicitous as were the Chief Priest and paid-for mob. Knowing the power of lies they were concerned that a big one could counter their big one and people would remember only the last lie they heard (“the last deception would be worse [for us] than the first”).
The only thing the fearful ones forgot was that you can roll lies over truth for a while, but “at the length truth will out”. The only alternative is to keep building the lie bigger and bigger over time. Even here it will eventually fall of its own weight.
A second difference is that Nicodemus, who only appears in John, in John reappears with an affirmation of Jesus with a boat-load of expensive spices instead of questions or a voice of reason/moderation.
The similarity is testimony that Jesus is dead. Dead and gone. Gone as far as effectively being in Sheol or Hades or Hell. There will be no Nicodemus-like reprise. Jesus is erased from this world. The guards of Matthew and our experience will both confirm that dead is dead.
The loss of Friday is shock. The loss of Saturday is resignation, not awe.
Though it is day, it is as dark as a sealed tomb where not even hope tiptoes.
Spoiler alert—Note well that without resignation there is no resurrection. This makes it very difficult for us today to experience Mary Magdalene and another Mary simply sitting across from the tomb. If they are too numb to do anything but sit and sense movement across the way and we are not numb about the crucifixions going on in our own context with trafficking, intentional denial of health care to the poorest, continued discrimination of LGBTQ people and immigrants without papers, increased gap of purchasing power, blocked decision-making, increased weather events, and so much more, we won’t be able to finally return to life to witness to changes necessary for our common life to rebound and flourish. Eventually Mary will come back to life and be a source of life for many. May we know how bad it is, there is no rescue on the horizon, we are alone.
Only when this Saturday is real will we take our part. Blessings on those who have lost all, who have nothing left to lose, for they are free to change and bring change.
http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2014/04/matthew-2757-66-or-john-1938-42-saturday.html