Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
John 19:31 NIV
Taken Away
Shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspended Parliament, Carol Sutherland-Brown’s phone started ringing. The calls were coming from other people whose families have been caught up in the longstanding “lost Canadians” fiasco and are concerned about the fate of the highly anticipated citizenship reforms proposed in Bill C-71. The Ottawa grandmother and others have been fighting to reclaim the citizenship rights taken away from their families under Canada’s current second-generation cut-off rule, which denies automatic citizenship to children born abroad because their parents also happened to be born overseas.
***
Today is the day in between. In our country, it is the day between two quiet days. Stores were closed yesterday and will be again tomorrow. But today, everyone is rushing around, getting things ready for Easter egg hunts, buying spring clothing, chocolate bunnies, and food for a special family gathering. It wasn’t that kind of a day in Israel, the day after Good Friday and before Resurrection Sunday. Saturday is Shabbat in Israel, it was then and is now, everything today in Israel will be quieter than Good Friday was here yesterday. There was a lot happening in the spiritual realm. Jesus was placed in a rich man’s unused tomb, as had been prophesied (John 19:31). Satan was convinced that he had won the ultimate battle – God was dead. But the place of dead, Hades, was getting ready for the promised resurrection. It was literally the calm before the storm. Take time today to be still, consider all that happened yesterday and the impact of what we will celebrate tomorrow. While our world gets busy, let’s take time for reflection and preparation. It’s Saturday, but Sunday is coming.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley