When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone

-Matthew 27:57-66

(please read through the passage 3 times using the practice of lectio divina)

Reflection

In this in-between time, the time between Christ’s death and resurrection, we notice the powers and principalities’ efforts to extinguish the Jesus movement. As we live in our own in-between time, the time between the inauguration of God’s kingdom and its future consummation, we see the powers of death, disease, violence, Mammon, nationalism, selfishness, factionalism, and greed try to bury God’s kingdom.

At the same time, Joseph, a disciple, gives Jesus the tomb which he has built for himself in anticipation of his own death. Unknowingly, as he ushers the crucified corpse into his own tomb, he entombs a body which will one day resurrect his own.

Action

Joseph found a practical way to love Christ. While we may not have a tomb to offer the crucified Christ, we can live in greater obedience to Christ’s teachings. Hopefully, through the season of Lent we’ve found small ways of doing that.

But for today, let’s take the day off knowing that it is God who must save us. If possible, treat today as a Sabbath day. Set a timer for ten minutes. Sit quietly in hopeful expectation of God’s deliverance. End the time with a prayer of thankfulness for God’s sure salvation.