This is a bonus blog post, not in the Lenten devotional packet made for the congregation of Cayce UMC. This came out of several conversations in my life over the past few weeks and a word laid upon my heart.
I think the church (the church universal) does a disservice by not teaching much about Holy Saturday...
Holy Saturday is the day Jesus laid in the tomb. The day after the crucifixion and the day before the resurrection. Some theologians argue it is the one day when God is dead, and the superstitious believe it is one day when we need to do very little for fear that God is not watching. I tend not to align with the superstitious, but more with the idea that the God is in the liminal space. Liminal is an adjective that means: relating to a transition or initial stage of process or occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.
Author Susan Beaumont in her book: How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You are Going. Leading in a Liminal Season, describes this liminal space as the threshold between an ending and a new beginning. The in-between space where one does not know how it will end up. It is a place of discomfort. "There is a sweet spot between the known and the unknown...the key is to be able to linger there without panicking." (Ed Catmull, Pixar) But, it is hard to sit in uncomfortable, undefined, unknown, unsettled places and not panic. There are too many "un"s. And yet, God's greatest work often happens in liminal spaces. "God is a character-forming God. God turns our times of transition into testimonies for God's glory." (Zim Flores, Dare to Bloom: Trusting God through Painful Endings and New Beginnings.)
I think most of us have experienced a liminal space. My best friend moved away in 7th grade, how can I go to school without my friend, or a cancer diagnosis, or losing a job, or being in an accident. Or the liminal moments, that may be more positive, but no less unknown: the night before starting a new job, before you are married, the days before a child is born. These moments test our faith. These moments are uncomfortable. We so often want to celebrate Jesus' miracles, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem or even the finality and terror of the cross before we sit in the uncomfortable place of waiting to see what will happen. We desire deliverance and an end to our discomfort more than finding the opportunity to be quiet and listen for how God is working in these moments. There is no shame in that feeling either, liminal spaces are uncomfortable!
But liminal spaces are also opportunities. Opportunities to lean into our faith. To practice our holy habits like reading scripture, prayer and service to others. To really look for hope in God's words and by being God's hands and feet to the world. One of my favorite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Gandhi was not a Christian, but he was very wise. He knew the power of moving outside of self-focus to focusing on the needs of others around you. Service is a great tool to help to see that “you” are not defined by a situation, but by your humanity by which I mean the ability, sympathy, connection, and solidarity to others through service. Hope is often more vibrant, more relevant in moments of crisis. That is the hope of the resurrection, that God WILL move us out of the in-between spaces into joy.
What would happen if we in the church taught how to be in liminal spaces? What if we normalized that these moments in our life will come: the liminal, unknown, uncomfortable spaces. God says there will be days or seasons like this BUT God also promises it will not last forever. Sunday is coming. Resurrection is coming.
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