Holy Saturday 2020

This last day of Holy Week is Easter Eve or Holy Saturday. It is the day after Good Friday.

On Good Friday Christians remember Jesus' crucifixion. Today, Holy Saturday, we remember that Jesus was dead and buried in a borrowed tomb in a garden.

Tomorrow the great celebration of Easter begins but if we try to rush into that joy too quickly I think we miss something important.

• We miss entering into the desolation and grief of Jesus' mother Mary or of his close friends like Peter, John Mary Magdalene and others.

• We miss sharing with all who this Easter weekend are mourning the death of someone close, whether from Covid-19 or any other cause.

•  We miss getting in touch with our private fears, griefs and sorrows and finding a way to express them. The deepest joy is that joy that comes after tears.

So, this year I have found the words of a new hymn helpful. It is designed to be sung to the well-known tune 'Abide with me'. Ally Barrett has written this hymn for Easter Eve. She is happy for it to be shared and used. It is a contribution to 'words for difficult times. Here are the words and below them a video of her singing them.

Dark is the night, the passing hours are long,
Lone voices whisper sorrow’s silent song,
Each faltering prayer will fear it’s made in vain,
When will we sing the world to life again?

Dark is the night; not all are blessed with sleep.
Some wake and work, and some must watch and weep:
Angels disguised, they tend a world in pain,
Off’ring the hope that there’ll be life again.

Dark is the night, the silent hours are slow,
Heav’n’s tears anoint the suffering earth below,
Blessing with dew the secret springing grain,
Pledge that the world will soon know life again.

And here is a video of Ally singing it, with some relevant images.