Holy Saturday
Gospel of John 19:38-42
theologian Zane Butnāre
In the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. (Jn 19:41)
Quiet, truly quiet is my soul, turning toward God in the garden.
Here — amid the ever-restless work of creation, everything once began.
Right here — in God’s garden.
Here the human being was placed, and in peace and joy he lived with creation and with God.
Here he was safe, for he dwelt in God’s nearness and in His light.
And yet right here he fell into sin, coming to know fear, shame, death.
Here — in God’s garden the human being began to hide,
and God’s nearness became distant to him.
Quiet, humbly quiet is my soul, seeking God:
who will save me, who will be with me?
I gaze into the garden…
Here the bloody sweat poured in hot streams into prayer,
and absolutely everything was fulfilled — pain, suffering, and death.
A new tomb is in the garden, where no one had yet been laid.
And those who once hid come out into the light, no longer gripped by fear, but lit up by faith and courage.
To the King they come with aloes and myrrh, and in fragrant cloths they begin to wrap Him.
Quiet and full of the shoots of hope is my soul today, waiting for God.
Soon! Very soon God will again call the human being by name. Here — in the garden. He will most certainly find and call by name! And all will be made new. Out of the empty tomb.
Quiet, yet still quiet is my soul in jubilant expectation of God.
I gaze into the garden…
It dawns, quite quietly it dawns —
Resurrection morning.
Illustration: The Quiet Land. Arta Skuja, 2026
