Day 40: Holy Saturday 4/4

READ: James 5:7-8 (revisit)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the coming of the Lord. Consider the farmer who waits patiently for the coming of rain in the fall and spring, looking forward to the precious fruit of the earth. You also must wait patiently, strengthening your resolve, because the coming of the Lord is near.

REFLECT 

Holy Saturday is the day when empire appears to have won. Jesus is in the tomb. The disciples are scattered, terrified, grieving. Rome's power seems absolute. Nothing is happening — or so it seems. But beneath the silence, beneath empire's apparent victory, God is at work. The farmer waits for the crop. The enslaved wait for exodus. The occupied wait for liberation. The disciples wait for the Lord. We wait, too, in our tombs — hoping that resurrection is coming, even when we can't see it yet. The Lord's coming is near. We've completed our 40 days. We've let perseverance finish its work. Tomorrow, we'll see.

RESPOND 

Today, practice waiting. Sit with the silence. Trust that God is at work beneath the surface.

PRAY 

God of Saturday's silence, when empire celebrates and hope seems dead, teach us to wait in faith. We trust you are working resurrection even now. Sunday is coming. Amen.

Conclusion

Enduring faith.

That's what James has been calling us toward all along. Not faith that grits its teeth and survives, but a resilient faith that trusts God enough to live differently — to love concretely, speak truthfully, resist injustice, care for the vulnerable, confess honestly, pray persistently.

Tomorrow is Easter. The tomb is empty. Jesus is risen. Death is defeated. And we who have endured this Lenten journey with him are invited into resurrection life — life that shows up, life that acts, life that loves, life that endures.

May the faith you've been nurturing these 40 days be alive in you. May it produce works of justice and mercy. May it endure through trials. And may it bring you, finally, to the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.