Rev. Dr. Patrick Mathias SDB - Homily- Easter Vigil Mass- 30 March 2024

 

Saturday – 30 March 2024- Easter Vigil Mass (year B)

Mass Readings: 1) Gen 1:1-2:2   2) Gen 22:1-18   3) Ex 14:15- 15:1 4) Is 54:5-14   5) Is 55:1-11       6) Ezek 36,16-17a.18-28   7) Rom 6:3-11 8) Mk 16:1-7.

Key Verse to Meditate: “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here” (Mk 16:6).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

Happy Easter to all in the name of the risen Lord.

We have been preparing for this great feast with a lot of prayers, penance, and meditation on the Passion of the Lord. Today’s Easter vigil Mass is the greatest of all vigil celebrations, the mother of all vigils, says St. Augustine. It is placed at the heart of the liturgical year, at the center of every celebration. Because, on this holy night, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from death. Jesus, as the Saviour, has won victory over death, destroying death as the penalty for our sins. Jesus has brought us close to God by his precious blood and won us God’s redemption and reconciliation. In this solemn Easter Vigil, we relive an event that gives substance to our faith, and which is the center of our hope: the resurrection of Christ. Thus, “Christian hope is the resurrection of the dead; everything that we are, we are because we believe in the resurrection.” says Tertullian.

The Old Testament Readings: In this great Vigil Mass, the Liturgy of the Word of God is quite long with six readings. The readings from the OT remind us of the salvific history of the Israelites, culminating in the resurrection scene in the NT from the Gospel of Mark. The creation account in Genesis tells us of the unfathomable love of God in creating man, woman, and the world. Additionally, the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham foreshadows the sacrifice of the Son of God by the Heavenly Father.

Next, the reading from Exodus speaks of the crossing of the Red Sea with the mighty hand of God. God's presence was ever with the chosen people even amidst this great drama of escape from slavery to freedom. The people of Israel crossing the waters of the Red Sea and journeying to the promised land of freedom has a reference to the sacrament of Baptism in the NT, symbolizing passing from sin to new life, from death to new life (Rom 6:4; Acts 2:38). In the reading from the prophet Ezekiel, God tells the people that since they have profaned his Holy name, he will sprinkle clean water and cleanse them from all their sinfulness. In the NT, it is the blood of Jesus that would cleanse us all from our sinfulness.

The New Testament Readings: Moving on to the NT readings, the letter to the Romans already leads us to the mystery of the resurrection by telling us that we are all baptized into the death of Jesus so that we too can rise with Christ to the new life of grace: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:3-4). We need to die to our sins and live for Christ, which is the final invitation: "The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 6:10-11).

The Gospel Reading: The gospel reading from St. Mark narrates to us very clearly the scene of the Resurrection, the hope of our faith. It is full of details and strengthens our faith in the risen Lord and its effect on our Christian lives. We see early in the morning three women at the tomb: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (Mk 16:1). These were the women who the day before had witnessed the place where Jesus was placed (Mk 15.47). The next verses tell us that one of their purposes was to anoint the body of Jesus. The Sabbath is over. It is the early hours of Sunday morning. With death, everything is over, and the women have only one gesture of affection and gratitude: to anoint the dead body of Jesus with perfumed oils to ward off the effects of death. But their worry was the big stone that had been placed at the entrance to the tomb: "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" (Mk 16:3). But their worry was taken care of as they found the stone already rolled away. Now begins the story.

The Role of Women Disciples in the Resurrection: In connection with the resurrection, the Gospel writers are keen to give details of the names of the women who beheld the first moments of the resurrection. Matthew mentions just Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as coming to have a look at the grave (Mt 28:1). Luke mentions the group of women who had prepared the spices to anoint the body of Jesus as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some other women (Lk 24:10). Mark mentions other names along with Mary Magdalene, namely Mary the mother of James and Salome (Mk 16:1). Mary Magdalene, who met the risen Lord and carried the good news, came to be known as the “apostle of the apostles” by the Fathers of the Church. The women became the heralds of good news. Unless we meet the risen Lord in faith, it is difficult to proclaim him to the world.

The Task of Announcing the Resurrection: Upon seeing the young man, likely an angel, dressed in white, they were terrified. But he reassured them, saying: "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." (Mk 16:6-7). Mark powerfully writes that the women went out and fled from the tomb because they were full of fear and amazement. And they said nothing to anyone because they were afraid (Mk 16:8).

The women ran away from the tomb because it had become useless, meaningless, and death had lost its signs. Therefore, it made no sense to remain tied to it. They were full of fear and amazement, and they said nothing to anyone. They heard for the first time that Jesus had been raised and that he was going before them to Galilee. This was commanded by the young man to be told to Peter and to the disciples.

The young man with white robes in the tomb began with the most reassuring and repeated expression in all of Scripture: "Do not be afraid" (Mk 16:6)! It is necessary to move out of human logic to enter into divine logic. The women did not understand the young man. The message was very upsetting. They could not understand the mystery of the resurrection then. But the message of the young man forms the center of the Christian announcement (kerygma), which expresses the nucleus of the Faith: Jesus of Nazareth, crucified, is risen. It will be the announcement of Peter at Pentecost, of Paul, of the Apostles, and of the Church up to our days. It is also the creed that we profess.

Who will Remove the Stone for Us? The main worry of these three faith-filled women was this: Who will remove the stone from the tomb (Mk 16:3)? Who will help us to be able to see the body of the divine master in that tomb? When we take one sincere step towards God, he comes to our aid. God appreciates our efforts in search of him and rewards our sincere affection towards him. The angles came to the aid of these faith filled women. God does not leave us in our tears, in our doubts and in our confusions.

Easter is the Day of the Removal of Stones: Sometimes, we may feel trapped by a metaphorical rock, whether it be a social obstacle, a familial burden, or a personal weakness. The heavy stones of our lives may represent sins from which we struggle to free ourselves, or they may signify our attachment to earthly concerns and sin. Additionally, the tombstones of our daily existence can take the form of selfishness, indifference, fear, and lack of courage, all of which hinder us from experiencing the joy of Easter fully. If these stones remain in place, encountering the Risen Christ becomes exceedingly difficult.

To encounter the risen Christ, we must summon the strength of faith and reason to roll away the various tombstones we have imposed upon ourselves, making space for hope and trust. Like the prodigal son (Lk 15:17), we must rise from our sinfulness and fear to meet the risen Lord, thus discovering true life and resurrection (Jn 11:25). May this Easter bring hope for a brighter future for all of us, with the assistance of the Lord, for without Him, we are powerless.

However, let us not despair, for Jesus is the living stone (1 Pet 2:4) who has conquered humanity's greatest obstacles: death, sin, and fear. We rejoice in hope because Christ Jesus came into the world to save us sinners (1 Tim 1:15). Let us always remember that Easter is the day when stones are removed.

The Experience of a Personal Encounter with Jesus: The experience of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ is at the heart of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium – ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ (2013). The pope invites every Christian disciple to allow the Lord to encounter them on a daily basis. It is this renewed personal encounter with the Lord that is going to change our life’s journey and lead us to the discovery of God’s marvellous and unfailing love for each of us (EG, §3).

Thanks be to Jesus who has paid a great price with His holy life so that we could turn from our old sinful ways and live a life of Easter: He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds, you were healed (1 Pet 2:24).

He Precedes you in Galilee: The angel told the women to go and tell Peter and the disciples who had lost hope and faith because of the cruel death of Jesus on the cross: “He precedes you in Galilee” (Mk 16:7). Galilee was the familiar place where they had been chosen and where they had lived their lives with the master. It was the most familiar surrounding for the disciples. In the common place, in our normal settings, God comes to meet us. He takes part in the ordinary events of life. His presence accompanies us always. Jesus precedes you in every way.

Whatever it is, the joy-filled and hope-filled message of Easter promises us that the risen Christ is not only there when we arrive, but that He goes ahead of us, to that desolate place, to those despairing circumstances of our lives, so that we might once again find the loving arms to which we can turn. Can we go in peace and strength to take up our daily tasks, because Jesus goes before us in our lives and in our ministries?

To Return to Galilee:  In the life of every Christian, ‘Galilee’ is the place of the experience of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. God is present in our lives. He is at the core of our life’s struggles, fears, betrayals, and vengeance, so that God comes to meet us to give us light for our paths with His loving presence and to share with us His peace. God constantly calls us to get back to our Galilees to remind us of His constant love, His ever-embracing presence, forgiveness, hope, and new life. Our particular Galilee could be anything that makes us tremble with fear, or it could be any unremarkable circumstances of our everyday lives. To return to Galilee means to meet Jesus at the weakest point of our human existence and be renewed. Just like the experience of the disciples with the Lord back in Galilee, every encounter with Jesus tells us that we are unconditionally forgiven and loved by Christ despite our weaknesses and sinfulness.

Points for Personal Reflection

Dear friends, the resurrection of Jesus must become our experience as well. The power of resurrection will transform us into new people of hope, courage, and new life in the Lord. As believers, we, like the angels, Mary Magdalene, and other women, must embody hope and serve as bearers of joy, faith, and trust in places where fear and hopelessness prevail. In light of this, St. Paul said, "I would like to know Christ and the power of his resurrection" (Phil 3:10). For us, disciples of the Lord, every day is Easter, thanks to the continual presence of the risen Lord in our lives. Just as the prodigal son did (Lk 15:17), we must awaken from our sinfulness and fear, seeking an encounter with the risen Lord, in order to discover true life and resurrection (Jn 11:25).

Are you seeking Jesus of Nazareth, the Risen One? Can you trust God's promise and resume the journey back to your place of living (your Galilee), just like these three women who returned? Are you willing to remove the stones in your life that prevent you from encountering the risen Christ? What is the stone that I would like to remove in order to encounter the risen Lord? Do you believe that Jesus goes before you in your life, so that you can rest assured that God goes before you everywhere, so that everything can begin and end with the presence and blessings of Jesus? 

 

Happy Easter to You All - Alleluia!!!!!!

To Download the Text- Click Here