In Tomb

I have found myself, post-Easter, scrambling, waiting, watching and mourning. Do we, as a world, ever have the luxury of entering into resurrection? It often feels more like we are at the foot of the cross than spreading news of miracles and of joy.

Last week I chatted with my spiritual director and she highlighted the significance of the tomb, particularly during a time where we are all spending time shut away from the physicality of our world. I never gave much thought to Holy Saturday. It was just a day in preparation for Easter. But the Saturday is significant. It needs just as much weight as Jesus’ death and resurrection for it is in the tomb that the still small voice of God enters us.

For me, this illumined so much of my life. It is easy to look back and notice which parts brought death and which parts brought new life. But rarely do I look back and think, ‘there, those four years of waiting, that was significant’. The time frame feels too long and it is often sprinkled with both death and resurrection. But the majority of our lives, I believe, takes place in the tomb. For me it always feels like I have so much energy or passion but something is always holding me back when I try to lunge forward. There is a call to wait. To listen. To be present to what’s happening. And, when the time is right, the gates will draw back and I can step forward. But not yet. Never yet. No, today, I am in tomb.