The Day in the Middle

Sometimes I wonder about the silence of Scripture.  I mean, what happened after the wedding in Cana where Jesus' first recorded miracle occurred - did the bride and groom ever know what had happened behind the scenes?  Did Jonah ever come to terms with God's mercy on Nineveh?  What about Naaman's servant girl after he was healed - and Naaman?  How did their lives change after the miraculous touched their world?

How about this one: What happened the day after Christ's crucifixion?

All four Gospel accounts give details of the grievous events of Good Friday and then focus on the triumph of Sunday morning.  They all fall strangely silent about the day in the middle: What was it like the day after Jesus died?

We are not given many clues.  The chief priests and Pharisees, who had long berated Jesus for "working" on the Sabbath, took some time that Sabbath day to stand before Pilate and request a guard on Jesus' tomb (Matthew 27:62-66).  In contrast, Luke tells us that those who buried Jesus and cared for Him "...rested according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56b).

Imagine the arrogant pomp of the Pharisees on that first Sabbath without the One who angered them so much.  What Torah text did they choose to read in the synagogue when they knew He would not be there to set them straight?  What about Nicodemus?  Joseph of Arimathea?

What was Pilate feeling that day - or Herod?  Didn't they feel the ground shake on Friday afternoon?  Didn't they notice the eerie, unnatural darkness?  The day after the Son of God died...were they still thinking about their role in His death?

What about the violent crowd?  Did they attend the synagogue that Sabbath?  Did they feel they had ousted a heretic or betrayed the only One who welcome them as they were?  Didn't they remember the lunch that fed 5,000?  The healings?  The teachings?  As they entered the synagogue that Saturday, I wonder if they felt like everything was back to normal.  Did they miss the presence of the One who had stirred up their traditions - but brought power with Him?  Did they regret the previous night?

What must have been whirling around and around in the minds and hearts of Jesus' disciples that day.  How they must have replayed in their mind what He had done and what He had said, and how they must have questioned everything they had believed about the Messiah.

We can imagine not only the grief, but the guilt they felt at abandoning Him.   Peter must have agonized over his denials before the rooster crowed.  How all of them must have felt despair, fear, loneliness, shock.

The disciples must have felt abandoned.  They were confused.  All they had learned and lived for had fallen apart in less than twenty-four hours.  The reason for their hope, their faith, and their very lives - gone?

But not for long.

When we feel the contradictions of being an eternal soul in a dying world, when we know we are children of light but the darkness remembers our name, when we believe God has a plan, but we just don't see how it could work out alright...we aren't the first to feel that way.

Today, by grace, we know something the disciples didn't yet understand as they huddled in fear with questions racing through their minds.  We know the story isn't over yet.

Early the next morning, everything changed!

"And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”"
Acts 1:9-11

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What Matters More

I was playing piano during the worship service at our church.  This doesn't happen often, but I'm glad for the opportunity when it does.  I was nervous (as usual), and there were a couple of hymns I didn't know as well as I would have liked.  I suppose it was inevitable...

Sure enough, it happened.  About halfway through one of the hymns, I hit the wrong note.  I still don't know how many people noticed (I was afraid to ask), but it was loud and clear to me.

Suddenly, I was even more nervous than before.  I had a hard time playing notes and stanzas that I had easily played at home.  In one hymn, I even had to stop playing for a measure or two and then start again.  And everyone was there to hear it!

Finally, I finished the last verse of the last hymn.  Relieved (but embarrassed), I returned to my seat, only for my brother to point out that I had only played four verses of the last song (there were five).  I'm grateful that the music leader is capable of impromptu.

Back in my seat, I listened to the sermon off and on as my mind wandered.  Why did my mistakes bother me so much?  What was I so concerned about?

When I pulled myself back to the present moment (and the sermon), I heard: "You will know what a person's heart is like by their actions, attitudes, their words...and how they respond when things don't go quite so well."

Hmmm.  By "how they respond when things don't go quite so well."  Like when I miss a note on the piano.  More than once.  In front of the entire church.  And here I was, lost in my thoughts about my piano proficiency and embarrassed at what others must think.

There was more to the sermon, of course.  "A person's life is a reflection of what is in their hearts...Spiritual fruit in a person's life cannot happen unless the heart is set to glorify God."

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?"

Galatians 1:10

As I sat in church that morning, I knew that my heart was not set on God's glory.  I was thinking (and caring) more about what others thought of me, my skills, my abilities.

But at the end of the day, what others may think of me or my skills will not matter.  At all.  What will matter more?

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

Colossians 3:23-24

That is better than the applause of man any day.

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