The Silences of Easter

Thursday – The Silence of their Shame

He got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron.

(John 13:4 and 5, The Message)

Cool water soothed their weary feet;
They sat in silence. He, replete
With basin, water, servant’s towel,
On bended knee. A task so foul,
That even slaves the chore would spurn.
So, shamed, the friends, all taciturn.
The Master served in muted tones
Till Peter’s loud, protesting groans,
Broke silence, and expressed their shame…
Christ challenged all to do the same.

Friday – The Silence of the Lamb

He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence.

(Isaiah 53:7, The Message)

While accusations ‘flew apace’,
He stood in silence and disgrace.
A word was all that was required:
To prove those witnesses had lied.
‘Twould bring release from transferred guilt,
For which his blood would soon be spilt.
Yet, he stood silent. Thus, condemned
Fulfilled what prophecies portend:
It would be so, the Great I AM,
Defenceless, silent, like a lamb.

Saturday – The Silence of the Grave

So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it.

(John 19:42 – The Message)

Dead, buried in the silent grave!
Dead, buried – hope that He would save!
That awful death on Calv’ry’s hill,
The violence through, the voices still.
The fear that silenced their protest,
That caused their flight, denied them rest.
The sleepless night gave way to dawn
A silent day, no hope, forlorn
They wait. The grave is muted yet,
No word to help them to forget.

Sunday – The Silence of the Tomb

We ran to the tomb to see; I outran Peter and got there first, and stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but I didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went on inside. He also noticed the cloth lying there, while the swath that had covered Jesus’ head was rolled up in a bundle and was lying at the side. Then I went in too, and saw, and believed that he had risen.

(John 20:4-8,The Living Bible)

The sun escaped its nightly womb
And shone upon a silent tomb.
Its silence not the sound of loss,
By gruesome death upon a cross;
It is a silence, glorious
For Jesus Christ, victorious,
Has breathed in resurrection breath
And triumphed over sin and death.
The Easter silences are o’er,
Drowned in our song forevermore!