Our Black Saturday

“Then he appeared to James…” 1 Co 15:7

Today is the Saturday before Easter Sunday and is sometimes referred to as Black Saturday. It is a day that commemorates that Jesus had died but had not yet risen. This day must have been especially hard on James the half-brother of Jesus. James was one who had not been a follower of the teachings of his brother. In fact, he had publicly ridiculed Jesus at one point insinuating that his brother was out of His mind (Mark 3:21). So, for James to face Black Saturday must have been one of the darkest days of his life. To know the manner in which his brother was murdered…to watch their mother suffer terribly…to see His followers shattered and heartbroken. What a Black Saturday it surely was for James. I am sure that James had no idea that the following day, in his deep grief, he would hear his brother’s voice on earth once again.

I remember after Beth died, I had gone to Target to pick up a few things. Our Target has a Starbucks inside the store and as I headed in, I turned around and caught a glimpse of a tiny figure in front of the window. I immediately stopped because the face of that young woman looked identical to Beth. The sunlight beaming in around her made her more of a silhouette but still I could make out her face. She was standing there staring at me with her $24,000,000 smile. I wouldn’t move and she didn’t move, and our eyes just stayed locked. I finally turned around and looked back and she was gone. I’ll never forget that image and I’ve always thought of that moment when reading this verse.

We have the knowledge and the promise that Sunday is coming…that Jesus rose up from the grave…that death was defeated...that He and James were reunited. If we have lost loved ones it just means we are living out our Black Saturday. Just because I have loved ones in Heaven doesn’t mean that death won. It means that it is just not yet Easter Sunday…it’s just not time to be reunited with them. But there will be a day for you and for me when we will open our eyes and our Black Saturday would have turned to our Easter Sunday. We will be reunited with not only our loved ones but the One who made it all possible.

I have comfort and peace walking out my Black Saturday because I know that Sunday is coming!