Easter Vigil, April 7, 2007

"Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. A light no darkness can
extinguish." This theme will run through this evening's celebration of the
Easter Vigil. When because of the "felix culpa" of Adam (his happy fault!)
Jesus came into history and through his birth, life, death, and
resurrection made it a history of salvation. As the Alpha and the Omega of
the whole of time and of the universe, all peoples past, present, and
future are bathed in the Light of Christ who is their Savior, yours, and
mine! The Easter Vigil liturgy is the greatest of liturgical celebrations
and it leads us into the greatest of Christian events, the Resurrection of
Jesus from the dead. The empty tomb is but a departure point for leading
us into the glories of the Easter narratives. Jesus victory is complete
over death, sin, and Satan. His hour has been finished ("consummatum est")
and we are living in the Presence of the Risen Lord. This mystery and
event is our hope based upon our baptismal faith and our commitment to a
covenant of love with God through the Eucharist, the highpoint of the
liturgical action of this evening. We are to respond to the agape love
that Jesus showed us last night as he gathered us together with the
apostles: "Before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that the hour
had come for him to pass out of this world to the Father, having loved his
own who were in the world, loved them with the depth of his intimacy (agape
love)." The Eucharist was called the Agape of Love Feast and that it is
this evening as we are placed in the heart of the Paschal Mysteries
culminating in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no
greater love ever than that of Jesus' total and unconditional love given
for each and all of us as he died upon the Cross. We are led in
understanding this by the readings chosen for this night. There are a total
of nine of them, but we are at liberty to select fewer. These readings are
before the Gospel of Luke our Evangelist for the year 2007. They are a
time line of sacred events within salvation history and prophetic oracles
that move from creation to covenant and from covenant to Baptism and
Eucharist in the last two of the readings. Our Baptism and Eucharist are
the foundation of the Church seen in the symbolism and theology of
yesterday when John described the blood and water flowing from the side of
Christ and poured over the Beloved Disciple and the Mother of the Crucified
Christ down upon them and awaiting earth. This resulted in the foundation
of the community of beloved ones or the Church. Yes, in reflecting on
these mysteries and sacred events we are led from sadness into joy--fifty
days of unbounded joy! Peace, love and joy are to be experienced as we
open the Easter season. With the holy women, Mary of Magdala, Mary the
Mother of James, and with Joanna and the other women with them we are
amazed to find the tomb empty. Then we are startled as we hear the
harmonious message of the two messengers clad in white who proclaim loudly,
"Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but has
risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was yet in Galilee, saying
that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, and be
crucified, and on the third day rise." Amen. Yes, Resurrexit sicut dixit
(He has risen just as he said he would) Amen. Amen. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Alleluia!