Easter vigil

Mark 16:1-7

When we begin the Easter vigil, we all gather in the dark, in silence, waiting. Our presence while waiting symbolizes all human history before Christ. Humanity walked in the darkness of the uncertainty of what tomorrow would bring, what was waiting for us beyond the grave. Hoe often they thought this was as good as it gets.

Then we bless the fire which symbolizes the divine love from all eternity. Once blessed then a flame leaps forth and enters into our darkness, our waiting. The light is now with us.

We gather around light, that solitary flame, as the darkness gives way to its brilliance.

The silence of Good Friday and Easter Saturday as the mute lips of Jesus entered into death is broken by that proclamation, "light of Christ."

And on our lips we find pressed the most essential response to such a gift, "Thanks be to God."

We followed the light. The light was contagious and we found ourselves no longer just following but nor bearing the light within ourselves. The darkness grew weaker as our tiny flames united in strength.



By the third proclamation, "light of Christ" the whole church erupts in brilliant light. We recall Sacred Scripture and the words of St. John, the darkness is over and the true light has begun to shine.

The third proclamation represents the Third Day, that decisive turning point in human history. The Calamity of the Cross is transformed as the stone is rolled away and a new dimension of human existence is laid bare at our feet.

He is risen.

We were invited to enter in to the celebration with exultation in union with the host of heaven and to fully engage the trumpet sound of salvation.

For on this night we remember something in the darkness as been changed forever. In the heart of death, the darkest of dark, now beats life.

Love now lives there in Christ who has conquered.



This is what we celebrate. This is why the bells toll during the gloria and the Alleluias once again fill the air.

Our lives are now caught up int he laughter of God. We now have a future. The uncertainty of tomorrow gives way to the bright promise of immortality as the stone is rolled away and the empty tomb shines forth.

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it.

The heavy lid of darkness has been lifted as the stone is rolled away and falls to the ground.

Easter Changes everything.

Nothing can ever be the same once the stone is rolled away.

Yet, how often we live our lives pretending the stone is still fixed in its place and the emptiness of the tomb remains hidden and out of sight and out of mind.

Easter changes everything but we must first let it change us.

The words of the Gospel ring true: Go there and you shall see him as he told you.

Our life is no longer founded on the whims of our imaginings but rather on the words of Him who have the words of everlasting life.

Easter changes everything.

THe resurrection brings hope for tomorrow but also a challenge for today. We can no longer live the same.
Our life must now testify to to the truth of the future we have received.

Something in the darkness has been changed forever. In the heart of death now beats life. Love now lives there.

Receive it, believe it, live it.

Let your life be the trumpet sound of salvation.
Easter Changes everything, but what matters most is that it changes you.