Wait in the city of Jerusalem “until you have been clothed with power from on high”.  “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (NRSV, Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8)

After the clamour and violence of Good Friday, Holy Saturday in Jerusalem was quiet, for it was the Sabbath, and the whole city “…rested according to the commandment” (NRSV, Luke 23:56).  No one, not even the Apostles, appreciated the meaning of this lull which contrasted so sharply with the agonising tumult of the previous day.  For them, it was the day after the burial of their Master, marking the end of all their faith and hope, the calm that comes with the fall of night.

But it was in fact the day before their Master’s Resurrection from the dead, the still expectancy that precedes the dawn when “…the Lord awoke as from sleep…” (NRSV, Psalm 78:65) and began his Risen life.