Lay (Saturday Easter Vigil, April 20th)

Saturday Vigil, April 20

Lay: to put or set down; to place for rest or sleep

Luke 23:50-56 (NRSV)

Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.

On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

KEEPING VIGIL

Between the suffering and the surprise,

there is silence.

Between the misery and the miracle,

there is mourning.

Between the loss and the life,

there is loneliness.

Between the death and the dawn,

there is darkness.

We watch, for we must keep vigil.

We rest, for we must keep Sabbath.

We wait, for we must also keep

the silence,

the mourning,

the loneliness,

the darkness.

Until the new day dawns

and bids us to lay them aside.

(KLW, 4-19-19)

All definitions are excerpted from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/

Cross photo credit: Aaron Burden on Unsplash