What Are You Looking For? Part 1: The Nicene Creed

And Was Buried

And was buried

            Jesus was dead.  His soul was separated from his body at the moment of his death just like ours is.  If you have ever been to an Easter service, or read the Gospels, you know the story.  You know how Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body to be taken down.  You know that his body was put in Joseph’s new tomb.  You know the story.  Most of us, Catholic or Protestant grew up hearing it.  The stone was rolled in front of the tomb.  Guards were posted.  And everyone went home.  But what happened next?  That’s the beauty and the mystery of Holy Saturday.  While Jesus’ body enjoyed its Sabbath rest, while the world took a pause between Good Friday and held its breath in anticipation of Easter Sunday, a lot was going on. 

            The moment Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, in the spiritual realm Satan began to plot and plan.  The moment Jesus died, he and all of his minions did the happy dance.  The Son of God was dead.  Satan had won.  He may have been kicked out of heaven, but at least he was now the undisputed ruler of Earth.  He had killed the Son of God.  Yea him!  I wonder what his thought process was.  It doesn’t seem to be a very well thought out plan.  Yes, he managed to crucify the Son of God, but did he really think Jesus would stay dead?  As Son of man, Jesus was mortal.  He had a body and soul just like us.  As the Divine Son of God, Jesus was eternal.  Immortal.  You can’t kill immortal.  If you could, then the person isn’t immortal.  Even for us normal humans, you can kill the body but you can’t kill the soul.  How much more was that true for Jesus?  But Satan in all his wisdom didn’t see it.  So he’s down in hell throwing a party.   

            Jesus’ body is up in the tomb while Jesus’ soul goes to the Abode of the Dead, Hell, in English, Sheol in Hebrew, Hades in Greek.  That’s the place everyone went prior to the Crucifixion, whether you were righteous or not.  All souls went there to wait for the Redeemer.  Not all found an equal fate there.  (See Luke 16: 22-26)  And guess who held the power of death?  That’s right.  Satan did.  What must have gone through his mind when Jesus showed up?  When the long-awaited Redeemer came into his house to preach the gospel?  Because that’s what Jesus went there to do. 

The final task of Jesus’ messianic mission was to bring the gospel to all men of all times and all places.  To do that, he had to go to the abode of those who had gone before, so that everyone who heard his voice would live.  “Jesus, ‘the Author of Life’, by dying destroyed ‘him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.’” (CCC 635)  In short, he totally ruined Satan’s party.  Forever.  (No wonder Satan hates Christians so much.  We remind him of his great defeat.)  This is the great mystery and beauty of Holy Saturday.

            “Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness.  A great silence because the King is asleep.  The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began…He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep.  Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him-He who is both their God and the son of Eve…’I am your God, who for your sake have become your son…I order you, O sleeper, to awake.  I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.  Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.’” (Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday: PG 43, 440A, 452C: LH, Holy Saturday, OR; CCC 635)