Dawn was breaking on the first day of the week; the Sabbath was over.
So Matthew, in a quiet, unassuming way, begins his account of the resurrection.
Their sabbath was over – the three years they had spent with Jesus, following him as their disciples; learning; journeying; resting – a break from their ordinary lives. A time during which they had been close to Jesus, being in his presence.
And then there was their other sabbath – a day of tiredness after the intense turmoil of the previous week. A day of deep, deep grief, of loss, of perplexity and confusion. A day of utter exhaustion – physical, emotional, spiritual. Spent.
What had it all been about? Why? Their hopes crushed; their world shaken. Jesus was dead. God was dead.
The sabbath was over. Had it all been nonsense – a meaningless break from the drudgery of life? What next? Would they simply go back to the humdrum of their ordinary lives? Would everything go back to where it had been before? Nothing changed?
No. The sabbath was over; but that wasn’t the end. A new day was dawning. The first day of the week. A new week. A new beginning. Spring was coming. New life was about to burst forth. Everything had changed, and they were about to discover the wonder of the resurrection. Out of the sabbath – the rest, the stillness, the companionship, the joy; out of that other sabbath – the grief, the exhaustion, the suffering, the tomb; out of all that would come the risen Jesus, his gentle presence with them – touching, healing, leading, bringing hope and joy and infinite love.
So, too, with me. My sabbath is over. My three months in New Zealand – the rest, the refreshment, the time and space to be still and present – with God, in the midst of God’s creation. And the honeymoon – the wonderful surprise of my new relationship with Lois, the joy of being together, the time of holiday. The wedding is finished, the guests have gone.
So, too, my sabbath of grief is over – the winter, the dark night; the grief, the tiredness, the exhaustion. That, too, is over, laid down. Jesus has taken it and laid it in his tomb. Out of the harrowing, the fallow ground, new life is breaking forth.
For us, too, a new day is dawning. A day full of possibilities and hope; of wonder, of excitement, of new joys, of love.
Spring.
A fresh start.
Resurrection.