Mtr Mary Trainor

Dear friend,

It is Holy Saturday, and we find accounts from Matthew and John as to the sealing of the tomb in which Jesus’ body was laid.

I suppose in this liminal space between Good Friday and Easter morning, this is the best the lectionary can do. Maybe it is  necessary for the larger purpose to have a matter-of-fact report on the burial of the body and the sealing of the tomb. Filler, in a way, until we can get to the “good” part. Anything more might ruin the surprise that lies just ahead.

***

Pardon me if using a Christmas story here seems out of line. But it’s one about a surprise that somehow did not ruin a good ending.

My brother and I still disagree on the details. I blame him, he blames me. But it came down to this: I peeked into my parents’ closet two days before Christmas—and what a treasure trove I found. I was busted, of course, all due to what I believe the law calls “excited utterances,” which drew my parents to the bedroom.

They were disappointed because they missed seeing our reactions to their lavish offerings, and for that I will always be sorry. But to this very day, my brother and I remember that Christmas as the one that defined Christmas for us.

***

So, today we read in Matthew and John about the men who sealed Jesus’ tomb to prevent his followers from creating fake news around the disappearance of the body.

But those men, and the ones who ordered the sealing, were up against forces they did not understand, nor could they outwit nor overpower.

And while we’re made to wait until tomorrow for the miraculous ending—or is it the beginning—I already know the secret, and you likely do, too: Nothing, no one, can lock down the power of God. Just hours from now, Jesus will be out there on the loose, and who knows what will come of that.

Mtr Mary