That empty aching void... the blend of disbelief and certain knowledge... the wishing we could make it go away and the realisation it won't... we've all had such moments, and if we haven't then we will.

The death of a loved one

The failing of an important exam

The words from a doctor "I'm sorry it's... [cancer/terminal/incurable/non-viable etc]

The final slamming of a door

The trampling of our dreams beneath the feet of history

The many, many 'little deaths'

We have no choice but to enter the pain, feel the loss of hope, experience the isolation...

Holy Saturday is the day when, like no other, God demonstrates sure and certain knowledge of grief and desolation.  As Jesus dies, something within God's very self dies; as Jesus lies in the cold darkness of a borrowed tomb, God experiences the icy gloom of bereavement.

Don't rush on, don't try to bypass the bewilderment, the emptiness, the all too long, all too hard to face day.  This day, of all days, God's message to us is this: me too, I have felt like that.

Today I think of friends who grieve or are in fear, of friends whose dreams are shattered.

For the joys and for the sorrows - for this, we have Jesus.

We made it!  The last  day of Lent 2015 and the final challenge... which is in some measure a real challenge unless you are by nature very ungenerous!!  What can I think of?  Hmmmm.

There is also an invitation to recall the challenge that made you the most happy... I think for me it was the 'hug' challenge and the unexpected opportunity to give the lollipop man, called Joseph, a hug for his birthday!!  That and the smile on the face of the bucket-shaker to whom I gave a bar of chocolate.  I was also quite chuffed after I'd litter-picked at church!!

Anyway, here it is:

We're here! Today is Holy Saturday, and tomorrow Christians celebrate the most generous act in the world. So, with that in mind, the culmination of our 40 day journey ends with this: do something today that's more generous than anything you've done in the last seven weeks, and do it anonymously.

ONLY ONE OPTION TODAY: Only you'll know what over-the-top generosity looks like for you. This isn't about spending lots of money or doing something on a large scale (unless you'd like to, of course!); it's about stretching yourself– whatever that happens to look like. By now you'll know that it's the heart attitude that counts. Go ahead and push the boat out today, without your name attached.

No prizes for my photography skills, but it's a beautiful almost full moon (full tomorrow night)

... the mug of tea and a hot cross bun when all the work is finally done!

Writing off debts - one way of understanding the events of Good Friday is the cancellation of our debt to God.  Today we are invited to think of other debts - finanacial or emotional - and to write them off, or even consciously to bless the person we think is in our debt!!

Good Friday is good because we get something undeserved. Freedom; a clean slate; a fresh beginning. Maybe today is a good day to extend the favour? Cancel an IOU and write off a debt that's owed to you today. It might be a tenner you loaned someone, a promise as yet unfulfilled or something more significant that caused a rift in the past. In the words of Frozen's Elsa, 'Let it go.'

START SMALL:

Does someone owe you a few quid? Did they forget about it? Draw a line under it and forget about it too.

A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING:

Double it up. That thing you did/that money you lent/that extra time you put in and didn't see any return on? Bless that person again; double the blessing.

THE WHOLE HOG:

Once you've cancelled any physical debts, think about the emotional ones you might be holding onto. Have you got grudges or grievances against anyone? Forgive them today. It's not easy, but it's liberating.