THE EASTER VIGIL

“Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised.” Mark 16:6

A lady came up to me after the Easter Vigil once and gushed, “Oh Father, whenever I hear the story of Moses parting the Red Sea, I always think of Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments.” Four thousand years of salvation history, two thousand years of Christianity, weeks of preparation, and all she can think about is Charlton Heston? Okay, I’ll accept that as a step in the right direction.

Our forty days of Lent conclude with the Easter Vigil. By the grace of God, our journey of forgiveness has been a fruitful one. Through fasting, prayer, and works of charity, we have, I hope, answered the Lord’s call to repentance and received in return a newness of life. By dying with Christ, we hope to rise with hope to rise with him. It is in the Easter Vigil that we celebrate the fulfillment of all our hopes and dreams.

That is why this liturgy is so rich in story and symbol, word and sacrament: The fire, the light, the smoke, the song, the creation story, the Abraham story, the Exodus story, the visions of the prophets, the instruction of the apostle, the experience of the women at the tomb; water blessed, lives transformed, bread and wine offered, body and blood consumed – in all this a people are renewed and sent forth. Alleluia! Alleluia!