Holy Saturday: the empty room

Holy Saturday: the empty room
 

God Almighty and All Merciful,
rescue us from despair.

The room had been empty since Thursday night, when Jesus, desperate for air, had left to be with God on the open hillside. The door slammed shut behind them, with the thud of a hammer’s blow. They’d left behind the remnants of the meal – wine spilt on the table, crumbs still scattered about, and by midnight, the candle wax had dripped, like tears down a woman’s face. No one came to clear away on Friday, all distracted by the commotion in the city. Sometime that afternoon, the table had shaken, the plates trembled and a cup rolled onto the floor and smashed in two...