The Waiting

The most uncomfortable piece of the Holy Week journey, it’s why so many lean into Tony Campolo’s comfort of It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming… we dislike being in grieving. Being in the unknown. Yet it is the mystery that is a part of the journey. The showing of the completely human, why some have Vigil Saturday, where from end of day Friday until Sonrise on Sunday you stay in prayer, some use a more truncated service format of readings and hymns.

How the ancient church attempted to formalize the mystery of what death meant for Brother Jesus, with these thougths from the Apostle’s Creed:  he descended to hell.

The concept popularized in Dante and Milton possibly, but most likely Hades’ the idea of storehouse of souls, raised, broken, the control of evil defeated in this time? Do we truly live that happened, or as Lewis’ would contemplate in the Screwtape Letters we still give over much to demonic forces that are simply part of creation?

Take time not looking to what we know is to come, but take time to be in contemplation, in the moment, processing…for prayer for the dead is the ancient wisdom of knowing we can take everything to God, and by speaking it we begin to heal to move forward into the new reality of what is becoming and can start to release what was. Though we dislike the discomfort of unknown, we dislike the discomfort of loss, we dislike the discomfort of emotions.

Simply be… is hard.

But take this time, be in the unknown, be in the mystery.