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Holy Saturday

“Call the Sabbath a delight.” —Isaiah 58:13

His weary, soulless body needed rest,
Not only pierced and physically exhausted,
But racked with mental pain, the scourging test
Of misbelieving judgment that accosted
The Word, yet found its wandering ways the best.
Disciples treating Truth as an impostor
Still want his clearer teaching re-assessed.

Faint wails of flesh diminish in the dark,
The darkness of abandonment’s enclosure.
Too many never mind how to embark,
And very few are able to repose here.
Benighted pride steers most to miss the mark
Of lasting peace and bodily composure
Where He lies slain to pay for doctrine stark.

Deep sleep, secure, sweet, fearless, wholesome sleep!
Life sacrificed in suffering’s full perfection
Has left remains for Joseph’s tomb to keep,
Watched from afar by holiest affection.
Inside, the harmonies of heaven weep
Through hours of cool and fragrant recollection,
Delightful day of quiet Sabbath sleep.

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Joseph: Joseph of Arimathea, who gave his own new tomb to bury Jesus.

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Margaret Coats lives in California.  She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University.  She has retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.

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35 Responses

  1. Peter Venable

    I imagine countless souls have speculated about the disciples and families utter dread and despair on that Sabbath. You did well.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thank you, Peter. Speculation on the body in the tomb faces a stark reality. Jesus’ own day of dread had passed, so this Sabbath must be a relief, if not a delight that could be felt in bodily senses. It is delight, rather, in my stretching it to be an observance of Isaiah’s recommendation. Appreciate your praise, and a happy Easter to you.

      Reply
  2. Jeffrey Essmann

    Gorgeous, Margaret, absolutely gorgeous. Holy Saturday always feels like a blank to me, the free space in salvation history Bingo, but you’ve filled it marvelously. Thank you for this. A most blessed Easter to you!

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      And to you, Jeffrey. The free space could be filled by the descent into limbo, but that’s a journey of Our Blessed Lord’s soul. Today the two parts of his human nature need separate consideration. Looking forward to a glorious morrow!

      Reply
  3. jd

    A beautiful contemplation, Margaret, on a day without the blessing that is Mass. I have always breathed a sigh of relief after three o”clock on Friday because I know the final outcome but those who did not know it must have suffered unaccountably
    .

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thanks, jd. I’ve not done Ignatian meditation with emphasis on visualization to cultivate comprehension and emotion. I wonder when and how a spiritual director would make such a difficult and unique assignment as the Passion. What I’ve done here is more limited and easier–something like a lead-up to our hours of Vigil in the evening of Holy Saturday. A very happy Easter to you and yours!

      Reply
  4. Cynthia Erlandson

    This is such a strong depiction of “The darkness of abandonment’s enclosure.” It’s hard to imagine the horror and despair of those who didn’t yet understand the promise of the resurrection. “Inside, the harmonies of heaven weep” is so very poignant. Your seven-line stanzas seem to imply that the world waits, almost breathlessly, for the “eighth” day. The epigraph from Isaiah is thoughtfully fleshed out. Thank you for this poem on this most mysterious day, Margaret.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      “Harmonies of heaven” are the angels, the only attendants present in the tomb. “Harmony of heaven,” singular, would refer to cosmic order, interrupted by the death of the Son of God. As one of my teachers said, “Who keeps it moving anyway? For secondary causes, angels are more efficient than gravity.” Thanks for your reading and comment, Cynthia. I value them especially as coming from someone thoroughly interested in times and seasons.

      Reply
  5. Frank Rable

    I really enjoyed reading an account of a temporary respite between two major events. I felt the suspense underlying the darkness and quiet, covered so thoroughly and so well. I don’t recall seeing something like this before. I can only imagine the hopes and prayers, and maybe the despair, for those who wondered what might come next.
    And the rhyme and meter! What an example for me, showing how well it can be done.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Yes, Frank, as an in-between day, Holy Saturday does have that underlying suspense. The past is not resolved, but one must pass through to a future hardly imagined by those who were there. Thanks for your praise of the rhyme and meter, and all the best for you and yours during Easter!

      Reply
  6. Julian D. Woodruff

    A beautiful poem, Margaret, with wonderful rhymes. You dive into the mystery of Holy Saturday and the Sabbath generally with great imagination.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thank you, Julian. I hope you have a double portion of Easter peace and joy, with some uplifting music to carry you there.

      Reply
  7. Rusty Rabon

    Thank you, Margaret, for this poem. The closing lines gave me helped me to better think about the suffering and death of Jesus:
    “Inside, the harmonies of heaven weep
    Through hours of cool and fragrant recollection,
    Delightful day of quiet Sabbath sleep.”
    “Cool and fragrant recollection” is a beautiful word picture.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      I was thinking of the hundred pounds of pleasant-smelling spices provided by Nicodemus. The aroma would have filled the tomb and induced a happy languor, accompanied by angelic music. Your trinitarian logo suggests the prevailing emotions. Thanks for commenting, Rusty, and a beautiful Easter to you!

      Reply
  8. Margaret Brinton

    Ms. Coats, I often think that He suffered most of all from the disbelief and He still does.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Yes, indeed, Margaret. That’s the reason for lines 6 and 7 about disciples who still reject some of his clear teaching meant for their benefit here and hereafter. A very happy Easter to you!

      Reply
  9. Gary Krauss

    Dear Margaret,
    There is much to be said about your decription of Our Lord’s lifeless body in the tomb. At what point did his “earthly” body become a resurrected glorified body unbounded by space and time? Nevetheless, the picture that you paint for us beautifully describes the consequences of sin and the failure of even those with thorough knowledge of Scripture to grasp the historical truths. For me the most powerful phrase , “…watched from afar with holiest affection”, took me immediately to the Mother of Jesus who, I suspect, knew the full story in advance,

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Gary, you are right! Whose human affection could have been holier than hers? And you may remember what is sometimes said about the Church, born as Our Lord died to redeem her on the Cross. On Holy Saturday, it had one member, who fully recalled and believed his predictions of rising again, and those to be found in Old Testament scripture. About Jesus’ earthly body, I would say for his death to be real, it really lay in the tomb until the day of resurrection, always said to be the third day. Thank you very much for your comment, and may you and yours experience many Easter blessings.

      Reply
  10. Gigi Ryan

    Dear Margaret,
    I was up before the birds today and the dark and quiet had me pondering the relief that Good Friday’s sufferings have ended. I considered the quiet tomb. When I read your poem, you filled in beautifully what I wanted to consider.
    “His weary, soulless body needed rest,”
    “Deep sleep, secure, sweet, fearless, wholesome sleep!”
    “Delightful day of quiet Sabbath sleep.”
    These lines especially painted the picture for me well.
    Happy Easter!
    Gigi

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thank you, Gigi. I’m happy to know we were thinking along the same lines. That line beginning “Deep sleep . . .” includes all the adjectives I found in Scripture to describe beneficial sleep. Wish you and your family a delightful, peaceful Easter!

      Reply
  11. Loretta Garcia

    Profound sentiments for consideration on this Holy Saturday! Thank you Dr. Coats.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thank you for meditative reading, Loretta. And I appreciate your effort to make the comment. A happy and holy Easter!

      Reply
  12. Louis Groarke

    Beautiful, timely poem. You should do a series on the chronology of the liturgical year, Margaret. I thought the ending was particularly powerful. You set just the right tone for Holy Saturday. An interlude–finally Good Friday suffering finished and a day of “quiet Sabbath sleep.” Very sophisticated, calm, thoughtful, wording. Another higher register of expression. And a lovely epigraph, tying it into the whole Scriptural tradition. (The way Scripture is supposed to be used.) It is already Easter here (after the Vigil), so allow me to wish you and yours a Happy Easter!

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      For a series on the liturgical year, there’s nothing like the 480 spiritual sonnets by 16th-century Dominican Anne de Marquets. I’ve translated a few:

      https://classicalpoets.org/2021/04/easter-season-sonnets-by-anne-de-marquets-1533-1588-translated-by-margaret-coats/

      Looking back at the group, I’ll acknowledge her influence, as I spent some months studying her work. It has the qualities you’ve found in this piece of mine, though I’d say hers are richer in doctrine and Scriptural allusion, which makes them extremely challenging to translate.

      Thanks for the high compliments on my original work, which came about in part because of Evan Mantyk’s scheduling practice. I saw Holy Saturday was a day I might be assigned, and took up the topic. It’s actually congenial to take a spot others might not think of.

      Hope you will have some peaceful time for relaxing from the professorial job during this happy and holy season!

      Reply
  13. Adam Sedia

    Holy Saturday often gets overlooked between its more famous bookends, but you capture its essence as a liminal space, when the disciples still reeled from tragedy, not knowing what to expect (or when we await the Feast of the Resurrection with anticipation). You do not give us a dramatic harrowing of hell, but the “view from above” – the human reaction to the day.

    I love what you did with the epigraph. It puts the reader in a proper frame of mind: this is a holy day and a day of peace.

    Happy Easter!

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      “Call the Sabbath a delight,” when quoted by observant Jews, or my own grandfather, means to enjoy the rest provided and sanctified by God, rather than chafing at all the things you are not allowed to do. Thinking of it as a precept fulfilled by Jesus on Holy Saturday points to the exemplary nature of every day of His life. It goes along with His well-known Sabbath healing, and plucking grain for morsels of food while traveling, to give what you rightly call the proper frame of mind. Happy Easter to you as well!

      Reply
  14. Christina

    Dear Mrs. Coats,
    What a starkly beautiful poem, and so appropriate on this day to behold! I particularly appreciated the mood of this poem, and how well you captured the mood of Holy Saturday. The stillness, the loneliness, the peaceful repose of sleep. I love how you brought to life what Jesus must have felt during this period of time when He is resting “of lasting peace and bodily composure,” His “sweet, fearless, wholesome sleep.” What an uplifting and consoling thought, to think of Our Lord as peacefully sleeping during this brief intermission; this prelude to something joyous and profound. But, as we know, He was also delivering souls from limbo on this day. I think we all feel like we are in limbo during this time, as we know He has suffered the worst death and was buried, but we have the expectation of His resurrection. It’s a time where Lent is not quite over but we are feeling like it is because His death has occurred. “Delightful day of quiet Sabbath sleep.” Indeed, a positive outlook as we so potently feel His absence and await His glorious awakening. Lovely poem!

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thanks, Christina, for the intriguing idea that we are in limbo on Holy Saturday, ourselves waiting for the Resurrection of Christ, so that we too may arise and rejoice. Yours is a lovely comment, taking into account what is felt by us as believers while we anticipate the end of forty days of Lenten penance.

      Reply
  15. Laura D

    Margaret,
    This poem was such an insightful one and so often I have wondered with great imagination what occurred in the tomb on this day. Your poem was a beautiful read that I thought was so touching.
    Have a blessed Easter Season.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thank you, Laura, for letting me know you too have considered this topic. We’ll have to discuss what you thought. Looking forward to seeing you during this upcoming blessed season.

      Reply
  16. Roy Eugene Peterson

    “Holy Saturday” says so much with a measure of alliteration and words to inspire. I did spend the weekend in a hospital and am so pleased to leave those walls alive. I can only imagine the feelings like you have of his disciples and friends which you so beautifully wrought.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Roy, thank you. I’m grateful to receive a comment from you so soon after that tomblike experience. The difference about hospitals is that they’re unceasingly noisy–unless you’re waiting for relieving treatment or happy discharge orders, when it seems like the whole busy place deliberately avoids you. I’m glad these words were able to inspire you, and may God grant you full recovery.

      Reply
  17. Irene

    Thank you Doc for such a beautiful “rendition” of our Lord’s suffering for us. So vivid and awakening too. This is worth sharing especially with unbelievers. HAPPY EASTER.

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      To Irene:

      We all have the right to express our views on literary matters here, but it should be remembered that the SCP is a non-sectarian site, unaffiliated with any religious group. Both “believers” and “unbelievers” are welcome, but comments that cross the line into proselytizing and overt preaching are not part of literary criticism.

      Just a reminder.

      Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Irene, you are most welcome. “Beautiful and bountiful is the Fire which fills hearts faithful to Christ with the warmth of the Word.” You know whereof you speak. Happy Easter as the season goes on!

      Reply

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