Easter Vigil
What happened was better than anyone could have expected. Perhaps Mary, our Blessed Mother, alone had some idea of what would happen. No one expected Jesus to rise from the dead, even though he had foretold it, along with the prophets of the Old Testament. No one expected life to conquer death. What happened was inconceivable.
Easter is not about little bunnies, candies, or pastel colors. Easter is about Jesus rising from the dead. We all know that, otherwise we’d be either getting ready to go to bed or sleeping right now. The Resurrection of Jesus changes everything. We are no longer trapped in a cycle of being born, doing our best to stay alive and not mess things up too much, and then dying. We are no longer subject to the rich ruling the poor, the powerful controlling and abusing the weak, the educated domineering the uneducated. Life is totally different.
“But Fr. Anthony,” you might say, “the rich still rule, the powerful still control and abuse, and the educated domineer. You are living in a different world if you don’t think that happens.” Certainly, our world is not perfect. Just four short days ago, another terrorist attack happened in Europe. No matter which party you belong to, the candidates all have to have sizable bank accounts and donors to become the President, legislators, and judges. Each month seems to bring with it a new study of how we should change things because we know better now.
All of that doesn’t matter, because Christ has won. There is still a battle going on, without a doubt, and it seems like the rich, the powerful, and the educated will always win. But they have lost already. They simply have not conceded. To be fair, being rich, powerful, or educated does not make one bad. Saints have come from the rich, the powerful, and the educated. But those saints would be the first to say that they would give up everything if Jesus asked them to. They live in the new life of the Resurrection where what is most important is Jesus, and the rest is all rubbish.
My dear Elect, in just a few moments, you will become part of that new life. In the waters of baptism Jesus will give you His new life, which can save you from eternal death. He will give you grace to reject Satan and all those who ally with him, who will lose. He will give you His life so that you can re-evaluate everything you have in your life, and weigh it against Jesus Christ. He will help you to know that the life you lead is no longer about you, but about Him, and loving Him by what you say and what you do to others. Your life, after Baptism, will be different.
And in the Sacrament of Confirmation, you will receive strength to spread that good news of new life to those you meet. Why do things in the world seem so dark right now? Because we have forgotten what it means to be Christian. We have forgotten to spread the new life and the new way of life to which Jesus invites us. Even those who have been baptized have decided that they would rather do things their own way than follow Jesus. And when we wander away from Jesus, we wander from new life and to death.
And in the Eucharist, your initiation into the Catholic Church will be complete. You will have union with Jesus. He will be with you, closer than you can be to any other person. And in that heavenly food, you will find strength to live in the new life of Jesus.
We, for our part, as your parish family, promise to help you live in that new life. But we also ask you to help us. It is too easy, and we see it all too often, for those who were baptized as infants to lose our love for Jesus, and to become complacent. Your new energy from becoming Catholic reminds us of what we are called to do and be in Christ Jesus.
What happened on that first Easter night, so many years and decades and centuries ago, was better than we could have ever expected. We received new life in Jesus, who invited us to be His followers and live in relationship with Him according to His new way. It will not always be easy. The powers of darkness will seek to have you forget. But new life has won, and you have us, as well as almost 2,000 years of saints to help you and show you what it means to live this new life. Christ has risen from the dead, alleluia!
