Worship In The Dark

Luke 23:18-56

The Gospels tell us very little about Joseph of Arimathea—until everything goes dark. Jesus has breathed his last and the disciples have scattered. Hope is buried beneath exhaustion, fear, and grief. And it’s here, in the shadowed aftermath of the cross, that Joseph steps forward.

He does not act with certainty. He has no resurrection faith yet, no assurance that love wins. What Joseph has is access—and the courage to use it. So he goes to Pilate and asks for Jesus’ body… and offers his own tomb. As light fades and Sabbath approaches, Joseph performs a quiet, costly act of devotion. This is worship in the dark.

His worship is not spoken or sung. It is embodied. He risks his reputation, his ritual purity, and his future. He gives what was prepared for himself and honors Jesus with it.  Nothing suggests Joseph knows how the story will end. Yet he draws near to Jesus with tenderness and sacrificial love.

At the very moment Jesus dies, the curtain in the Temple is torn in two. What once marked distance and restriction is undone. God’s presence is no longer guarded by layers of sacrifice and mediation. Full access is given—initiated by God, not earned by us.

Joseph likely had no idea the curtain was torn yet he acts as though this access is already his.

He steps toward places others avoid. He draws close to Jesus when proximity is costly. He boldly and tenderly leans in.

He shows us that full access to God is both a gift to be received and a responsibility to be stewarded. The gift is His nearness; the responsibility is expressed in embodied acts of devotion. Lent invites us to consider the question Joseph’s life quietly asks: What are we doing with the access we have been given?

Reflection Questions

When life goes dark, is it your habit to look up, lean in and draw near to Jesus?

What situation might God be inviting you to further step in with the access you have—stepping in with boldness, tenderness, and sacrificial love in the Name of Jesus? What embodied act of devotion is He inviting you into today?