Something Strange is Happening

On this Holy Saturday, an odd and terrible and beautiful story is unfolding

Christ Descent into Death

Today, something strange is happening.

Yesterday, we placed Jesus’ lifeless corpse into the dank tomb, all our hopes arriving at the absolute end of the line. The story concluded with dead criminals and busted bones, vinegar and tears. The final act held us under a dark sky, among decay and rot, where dreams wither and futures gasp after final breaths. We buried the World’s Light, extinguished like a snuffer over a candle. And we walked away, in despair and silence. What else could we do?

But something strange is happening.

Deep beneath the still and barren earth, a flame we cannot see — a fire we can perhaps no longer even imagine — kindles, embers refusing the abyss. Overwhelmed by so much suffering — all our sorrows and deaths and all the world’s twisting pain — we feel none of the gathering warmth. But strange, strange things are stirring.

As the Creed confesses, Jesus has descended into the place of the dead. His entire life, Jesus has always moved toward t…