THE EASTER VIGIL
Tonight we celebrate the capital central event for Christianity: the liberation of God’s people from the slavery of sin, so that they can enter into the new and everlasting covenant whereby God, at his own initiative, binds his people to himself in a deep union of life and love. For God’s people in the Old Testament God saw the hardships they suffered in their slavery in Egypt, liberated them and made with them the covenant through Moses on Mount Sinai. For us Christians, God saw our slavery to sin and our inability to get rid of it. So he sent Jesus, his own Son, to make us free by his death on the cross on Mount Golgotha and by his resurrection. Now we are a free people, capable of love and service and justice. We celebrate this freedom and covenant this very night.
Reading I: Gn 1:1—2:2
1 1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3-5 God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
6-8 God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.
9-10 God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.
14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
2 Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2-4 By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
Epistle: Rom 6:3-11
6 1-3 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!
3-5 That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country.
6-11 Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer captive to sin’s demands! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.
Gospel: Mt 28:1-10
28 1-4 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move.
5-6 The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.
7 “Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ That’s the message.”
8-10 The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. “Good morning!” he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, “You’re holding on to me for dear life! Don’t be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I’ll meet them there.”
Prayer
Let us pray that we may follow wholeheartedly
Christ, our light and life
(pause)
Lord our God,
your have brightened this night
with the glorious light of Christ.
Make us rise with him to a new life
of faithful love in the new covenant
and renew us in mind and body
that we may be your loyal sons and daughters
and give you wholehearted service,
together with your risen Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reflection:
8 April 2023
Holy Saturday
Wait in patience
The Liturgy of the Church wanted to make this day a time of silence, meditation, and welcoming into our hearts the mystery of Jesus, who died and would rise again. Hence there is no celebration of the Eucharist today, nor is there a Gospel for reflection! What we have is the Easter Vigil – which is already part of the celebration of Easter, and we still have time to reflect on Easter.
The term ‘vigil’ refers to waiting… in anticipation of something to happen… for example, waiting for the birth of a child or keeping watch of a dear one dying. But… Waiting is the last thing we want to talk about. We are living in a world of 5G internet connectivity, instant coffee and instant noodles… We grow impatient even when internet signals are weak! Our age is characterised by impatience. We rush about our lives, refusing to ever wait for things.
Imagine that Sabbath morning after a brutal killing during the Passover in Jerusalem. It appeared like a lost battle. As far as the disciples were concerned, there was nothing to hope for and no one to wait for.
Despite this hopelessness, there was someone who anticipated something big to happen after that horrifying Friday – that was the Blessed Mother. She must have been sure that the life of the Son of God would not end on the Cross, nor would it disappear in a tomb. She knew for sure that there would be an Easter, and all she had to do was to wait patiently. This one day must have been the longest in the life of Mary – in waiting. We don’t see her running to the tomb with the rest of the women on Easter Morning.
On the Holy Saturday, the Blessed Mother brings us the most important message: Be patient. It is just the beginning and not the end. How fast do we plunge into anxiety and despair when tragedies strike us? When faced with failures in life or rejection from family and people whom we consider most important to us? We look for immediate answers to our prayers and demand instant results. Remember the famous prayer: “Lord, give me patience and give it to me right now!”
Let us be patient; the Lord hasn’t finished with us yet!