Year C Holy Saturday 2025 Applesauce

 Year C Holy Saturday, 19 April 2025

St James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Applesauce”

Collect: O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 27:57-66

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.

I had the opportunity this week to spend some time in the Critical Care Hospital at VCU’s MCV. Hospitals can be loud, confusing, impersonal, uncomfortable, and painful all at once. While I waited for the family, it seemed like a strange limbo. The hospitalized person was confused and I could not tell if they knew who I was or not. I had to wear a mask, which did not help any. And in our time together, there was that strange waiting game, where all I could say was that the family were on their way. Though only a few minutes, the wait seemed forever.

Waiting does not come easy for most of us, and when we are waiting for things we are unsure about it is even harder.

The disciples were waiting. In fear. They could be next. Or they could get away. This one they had thought to be the long-awaited Messiah was dead. Their hope was gone. The grief, the terror, the regret of what things could have done differently. So much turmoil and worry while they sat in a stuffy room in the dark.

While I waited, the person in the hospital whispered, “Some applesauce” and waved their arm. I was so much thinking about what to do or what to say to help the person so confused that I missed the obvious. It is always a good time to do something good. Especially when we are stuck in our heads or in our worry.

So I took the cup of applesauce and I fed them spoon by spoon. Worrying about my discomfort about not knowing what to do or say left. The waiting left. Only one spoon at a time became our focus. And we got to a better place. I grabbed the cup with the straw so they could get a drink. And I was reminded that this was what Jesus wants from us. The prayers were important. Taking time to visit and be with them and the family was important. But Jesus told us when we share a cup in his name, it is as if we did it unto him.

It is so easy, especially when we are hurting and caught up in ourselves and our own situations to lose track of what is most important, caring for and loving one another.

I trust, alone and afraid in the dark, that the disciples looked out for and cared for one another, and maybe their fears were lessened and the dark became a bit more light. And it is what Jesus would want anyway.

We wait, yes, but he told us the outcome, and we await light, and love, and life. It may feel dark, but Sunday is coming. Amen