It’s Easter Saturday, here in the southern hemisphere. The strange, in-between day; the hiatus between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

I think Easter Saturday is a slice of reality. We can be so caught up in our own grief and pain, that it comes as a huge surprise that the rest of the world is continuing life as normal. Here we are, wrapped up in sorrow and introspection, and there’s the rest of the world going camping, playing sport, hunting for bargains in the local shops, doing a bit of D.I.Y around the house, as if nothing momentous has happened. But, that’s how it is: life continues.

For those of us who are grieving, Easter Saturday teaches us that grieving is a natural process that has its own rhythm and timing.  Saturday is just as important as Friday and Sunday. The hope of the Easter story, however, is that even though we have been through the agony of Friday, Sunday – the day of joy and new beginnings – isn’t that far away. We just have to hang in there through the sadness of Friday, and then the numbness of Saturday, and eventually Sunday will dawn.

Even if you don’t believe in Jesus, surely this is still something you need to hear this Easter? At times it seems as though Evil is winning but don’t despair: life continues; hope isn’t quenched; there is a new day coming. As the Old Book puts it: “There is weeping in the night but joy comes with the morning.”