For Those Who Wait

A reflection for Holy Saturday, and for all those who wait.

We wait together for the resurrection, having witnessed our Savior’s suffering with the women at the foot of the cross.

We wait together for our own healing, having witnessed our Savior’s death at the hands of human failings.

Jesus’ very presence on the cross is miraculous. In the crucifixion, we see the child of God endure the greatest of our suffering.

And isn’t that the point of Christ’s humanity? That Jesus becomes human to experience with us our joys and our trials? 

Oh Lord, forgive us our fears and our weakness. For in the crucifixion, Jesus suffers in our own hands.

If Jesus died for our sins, all our sins, then there we can find God, sharing our struggles and easing our pain.

This is why we re-imagine the Stations of the Cross through the struggle for LGBT equality, from the use of the word “faggot” in 1913 and imprisonment under the Nazi regime, to attempted conversions through electroshock therapy and the murders and deaths of our most vulnerable children.

Through Mary Button’s Stations of the Cross, we see a history of a people who have been silenced, targeted, and oppressed, and we see a God who suffers with us in our trials. 

Each year, we stand witness to the crucifixion, reminding us of our sins against God, against ourselves, and against each other. Each year, we draw in our breath and wait for our salvation.

Waiting together, wondering again if Jesus will rise and if liberation will come.

No matter what happens Sunday morning, the Passion of the Christ stays with us. We still live in a world plagued by war and violence, bigotry and oppression.

And even in our brightest moments, even when public opinion shifts and a sea of red floods our facebook walls, and even after the resurrection, we’re still tasked with creating a world where all are welcome, all are loved, and all are supported.

Even with the assurance of salvation, we wait for equality, knowing ours is just one of many stories of oppression. 

We can find comfort in Jesus’ humanity, knowing he, too, has experienced the betrayal and brokenness of our world.

We can find hope in the Psalm of the day, a recitation of enduring faith through sorrow and pain:

“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24)

And we remember, this Holy Saturday and every other day, that Jesus is with us, present in those exact moments we most need the hope of the resurrection.

In those moments, we wait for our unexpected Savior to break the chains of our oppression.

We wait for the Supreme Court ruling, for the full inclusion of LGBT people, and for support and recognition of our queer families.

We wait and work together for the day when we’ll see our neighbors through the lens of divine compassion and unending love.

We wait and work together, knowing:

“At the end of the day—God wins. God’s love wins. We can keep up this fight because we know how it ends.” -Bishop Gene V. Robinson

Artwork by Mary Button, “Station 14: Jesus is laid in the tomb,” Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality