Tonight’s Easter Vigil is an experience of sensory overload! And such is the interior life of the Living God! Such is the life of the Risen Christ and what he offers to all who come to faith in him. And yet, the life of God does not overwhelm us, but rather comes to us humbly and gradually in the person of Jesus. God comes to us in a manner we can receive.
Something struck me as I prayed with our Gospel for tonight’s Vigil: the Risen Jesus is nowhere to be found or seen. And yet, testimony and signs were enough to cause these women and Peter to believe the Jesus was truly Risen.
There is the entrance stone mysteriously rolled back. There is the empty tomb. There are the two angels clothed in dazzling garments. There are the burial cloths rolled up and sitting alone. There is the testimony of Jesus himself, which the angels recall, that the Son of Man had first to be handed over to sinners and be crucified and rise on the third day. But the Risen Lord is not seen.
Our lives often look for certainty, and yet, the Lord comes to us in subtle but sure ways.
The women leave the tomb and immediately begin to give their testimony to what they heard and saw. The apostles find the story too difficult to believe. Peter runs to the empty tomb and sees the burial cloths and leaves amazed at what had happened.
Around the world tonight, people are gathering in churches, in search of the Risen One, to celebrate once again the great work of God who raised Jesus from the dead. As the women in the Gospel story, we may not see the Risen One, but we will have our own experience to deepen and reawaken our faith in the Risen Christ, who is truly present in our midst.
We have heard again the Word of God, recalling his marvelous deeds. We have blessed the Easter Fire which illumines the darkness of our world and hearts. We will bless the water and witness the Baptism of numerous elect who will die to this world and rise with Christ to new life. We will see their white garments resplendent with the glory of eternal life. We will smell the Chrism Oil which seals the newly baptized in their new life in Christ. We smell the fragrance of incense which rises to the heavens with all our prayers. We will touch the flesh of the Risen Christ in the Eucharist and experience the joy of faith in this worshiping community!
Indeed, Christ is Risen and present. Let us run to him so as to remain with him always. But we know that to be in Christ means to live for others.
Now, the world awaits our testimony. The question of the angels, why do you seek the living among the dead? begs a prior question, which is on the hearts of many in our world today. It is the question Jesus asks his first followers: “What are you looking for”? (John 1:38)
The mission of Jesus is shared with all the baptized. We are sent into the world to give our testimony of faith that he is Risen. To whom are we sent? To those who search for what they yet know not, to help them discover the One their heart loves, the Risen Christ.
What stones are we called to roll away for others? Of disbelief, of pain and suffering, of doubt and confusion. There is so much confusion in society today; people who want to be free of moral demands and ultimate truth, a huge and heavy stone indeed, to live with a false understanding of human freedom, which is always ordered to love.
The Prophet Baruch spoke eloquently in one of our readings this evening describing how wisdom is found in the Law. This “is the book of the precepts of God, the law that endures forever; all who cling to her will live, but those will die who forsake her. … walk by her light toward splendor. Give not your glory to another.” (Baruch 3:37-4:4) The commandments of God and the teachings of Jesus are not meant to limit us in any degree but rather assist us in growing in a positive way to reach our full dignity and potential, not just as individuals, but as a human family.
When we receive this new life of the Risen Christ, when we receive his love and mercy, when we allow ourselves to be truly transformed by this love of Christ, this is the love which brings about a new humanity. The world needs Christ, which means the world needs our witness to Christ, our witness of faith.
So, what is our testimony? We need only look to the words we heard from St. Paul this evening:
“If then we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. … Consequently, you must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:8-11)
My dear friends, let us be clear-headed about the deepest desires of the heart – to live in God – to live in the Risen Christ. Let us seek the Lord where he may be found; in prayer and sacrament, faith, humble service, forgiveness and love.
Why are you looking for the living among the dead?
“Since you have been raised up to new life in Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is seated at God’s right hand.” (Colossians 3:1)