Scripture seems to require a lot of waiting. Abraham and Sarah were waiting for a promised child (Genesis 12-18).
The Israelites waited many years to be freed from slavery (Exodus 1-12). Simeon, Anna, and others were waiting for the coming of the Messiah (Luke 2:25-38). The Hebrews had several words and phrases for “wait”, just as some indigenous languages ​​spoken in northern Canada have several ways to describe snow. Snow is a big part of life there. Waiting, it turns out, is a big part of life for God’s people.
As we read in our lesson, Joseph of Arimathea was waiting for the Kingdom of God. But the surprising thing here is that he was taking down the body of Jesus from the cross. Joseph had thought that Jesus was bringing the kingdom of God, but now he was dead. If Joseph could bring himself to do the work of waiting again, it would probably be a defeated, hopeless kind of waiting.
Think about the women there also. They probably assumed that Jesus’ work and teaching had been in vain, that there was only one body to bury.
But as Joseph placed Jesus’ body in the tomb and the women prepared spices to bury Jesus, God was preparing something new that would turn the disappointing wait into joy and peace.
