The Easter Vigil, which is the longest liturgy that the Church celebrates marking the start of the
Easter season, begins with total darkness (all the lights in the church are off), which reminds us of the consequences that sin brought about by Adam and Eve, but this darkness will not take long to be vanquished. With the blessing of the fire that is eventually used to light the Easter candle, the great light promised by the Father will set the world on fire, giving warmth again to hearts that are frozen by sin. As the deacon echoes the words “The light of Christ” as we enter the Church, the whole congregation responds “Thanks be to God” – an affirmation that we are indeed sons and daughters of the light and not of darkness. The second reading today, from the letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians,
affirms this fundamental identity of ours: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” Without the resurrection, there is really no point to everything that we do here. Without the resurrection, Christianity or Catholicism would simply be reduced to an ideology or a
philosophy of life that tries to articulate how to live a good and moral life. Period. Without the resurrection, what Christ underwent and experienced— all those healing miracles that he did, his teachings, and his death on a cross— would simply be reduced to an experience of a man who did not have good luck in his mission or cause. But Christ did resurrect; he rose from the dead, which means that there is so much more that is in store for us after all these things that we have in this life come to end. With the resurrection of Jesus, we have been assured that the faith that we profess is not simply there to guide us or to give us a structure on how to lead a good and moral life—or that after we die, there is nothing more to look forward to—but rather it convinces us that our real citizenship is really in the kingdom of God, and we are truly created for that Kingdom.
This is why St. Paul reminds us that we have to seek what is above because ultimately our life is hidden with Christ. In the gospel version of Mark, it is interesting that the first thing that Jesus told the first witnesses of the resurrection (Mary Magdalene) was: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell your brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me.” Why couldn’t Jesus just appear to them where they were at that moment? Why Galilee? Everything started in Galilee. It was in Galilee where Jesus started his
mission. It is there where he called his apostles to join him in spreading the Good News. Same invitation for us. We have to go back to our own Galilee. And where is our Galilee? In our own baptism—it is in baptism that everything started. That’s why the baptismal font is the most prominent fixture in Easter. And this is why the main highlight during the Easter season is the baptism and reception to the sacraments of our brothers and sisters who have journeyed, reflected and prayed for months in order to be received into the Catholic faith, which we did last night. And because the fullness of our faith that we celebrate during Easter begins with our baptism, we also renew our baptismal promises on Easter Sunday. And as we go back to our baptism, we discover who we truly are and upon discovering who we are, we should not be afraid to live out our identity as sons and daughters of God. Many of the problems that beset the world and the church are due to the fact that we oftentimes forget who we are: that we are sons and daughters of God; therefore, there is a certain lifestyle and moral standard that is expected from that identity. The apostles of Jesus suffered from that identity crisis too. They were too afraid to stand for what they believed, but Christ changed that fear. With the resurrection of Christ, may our own fears be transformed into the joy of being God’s sons and daughters, courageous in our witnessing to the faith.
To celebrate resurrection or Easter is really to celebrate who we are in Christ. It is to dive into the joy of being sharers of divine life. We are not just simply defined by what we do or what others think who we are, but our sublime dignity is that we are all called ultimately to share in the life of God. If we take that identity really seriously, it will change the way we look at life, the world, our relationships. The moment that we realize that we are of God then all of our desires for worldly ambitions and glamor will be directed to pursuits that are of heaven.
There are so many people out there who are physically alive – robust and fit, successful in the eyes of the world – but are walking dead— spiritually empty and barren, still stuck in the tomb. But it is also amazing to know people who are physically limited; some of them physically paralyzed for years are more alive than people who can walk because they know that at their very core they are sons and daughters of God, and they truly relish in that identity, assuring them that whatever physical
limitations they may have, their spirits can never be broken. I even see this when I am anointing people who are in their last hours. Some of them have this unexplainable peace and serenity and even unexplainable joy because they are truly convinced that their ultimate flourishing is yet to come in God. It is only in faith – in the faith in the resurrection— that we can truly embrace the promise of eternal life. In the other version of the gospel today, the three women came to the tomb wondering who would roll away the stone for them. Perhaps they hoped the soldiers keeping guard would roll it away for them to allow them to anoint Jesus’ body. But when they got there, the stone was already rolled away. Have you allowed a stone to prevent you from meeting the risen Jesus? Have you allowed the stone of becoming engrossed in what you have and own and what others have and own to be a stone to block your way to Jesus? If we are still stuck in our own tombs – pride, anger, vanity, power, vice or whatever tomb it is – Christ wants us to roll away the stone and resurrect with him. We were adopted as God’s son or
daughter on the day we were baptized. If we are not living like a son or daughter of God, roll away the stone. If we are not joyful, that is a sure sign that the stone needs to be rolled away in our life.
In this first day of the Easter Season, we are so excited to welcome the new members of our faith community who have officially received the sacraments of initiation. May the grace of the sacraments and the joy of resurrection continue to sustain them in their faith journey. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to work closer with the RCIA team this year. Our parish is so lucky to have a RCIA team, led by Peggy and Mike Flanigan, who are passionate and joyful in sharing their faith to those who were considering joining the Catholic Church. RCIA team, truly a job well done! Thank you for all your hard work and sacrifices. May the good work, which Lord has begun in us, bring it to completion. Christ is truly risen, alleluia!
Happy Easter! – Fr. Cary