Holy Saturday

Historically, holy Saturday is celebrated with solemn reflections and prayers of lamentation and hope. With Christ dead and the disciples scattered each to his own place, what would happen to the nascent movement begun by John the Baptist and then Jesus himself manifested to Israel? After three short years at the most, it was all over with the crucifixion of the leader of the new movement. Often times, over the course of this Semester, I have lectured on John's Gospel and consistently over 10 or 11 chapters of the Gospel, Jesus spoke in conflict with the authorities of the day, especially the Jews led by the High Priest, chief priests and leading Pharisees. Often times, Jesus could only respond that it was His Father who witnessed to Him and that Jesus was sent by the Father and had come in the Father's Name.
Often times, the Jews were exasperated and questioned Jesus' claims - "Who is your Father?" Well and good to say "God sent me" but where is the proof? Humanly, the Jews could not be faulted but yet spiritually and in truth, they could not be more wrong in not believing in the only begotten Son of God. Whatever it is, whenever truth is spoken, one must accept it at face value for truth spoken in God's Name testified to itself or the veracity of it. There is no excuse in seeking proof -" you Jews seek after signs? that's reproof from the Lord. Whoever comes in the Father's Name, if indeed sent by God has a self-authenticating witness within himself (as Jesus claims) and he speaks the truth and there is no lie in that person. If we reject him who speaks, we reject God who sends him just as the Jews rejected Jesus in his day. As for me, on Good Friday I read Job 5-7 as Passover Reflections and today, Daniel 7, Jeremiah 9-10, a few Psalms and this afternoon Proverbs 28.