HOLY SATURDAY
20 APRIL 2019
We waited
until dark to celebrate this great Vigil of Easter. A bight fire dispelled the darkness. Having blessed that fire, we prepared the new
Easter candle, lit it, and carried it into this darkened church. Then the fire of that candle was shared with
the rest of this assembly. In sharing, its flame was not diminished. Instead, the shared flame lit the church as
we heard the proclamation of the Lord’s resurrection in the Exsultet. Then we listened to the Lord speaking to us
in seven readings from the Old Testament, one from Saint Paul, and the Gospel
according to Saint Luke.
Beginning
with the first reading that describes God’s bringing light and creation out of
watery chaos; we have heard the stories of God’s faithful involvement in our history. All of these stories find their culmination
in this Gospel. The bright light of
Christ’s resurrection has dispelled the darkness of the tomb that held his dead
body. No one witnessed this event. But the two men dressed in dazzling white tell
the women that they should not seek the living among the dead. They tell them that he has been raised. Even though the apostles do not believe them,
Peter runs to the tomb and is amazed. It
was the beginning of faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now, we who
are disciples of Jesus Christ express our faith in this Mystery which is at the
heart of everything we believe. We call
forward the elect. They will renounce
Satan and his lies. They will profess
their faith in the Trinity. They will walk to the Baptismal Font, where they
will be buried with Christ in the waters of baptism. They will rise with him, with all their sins
forgiven. Along with the Candidates for
Full Communion, the rest of us will renew our baptismal promises. The newly baptized and received will be
sealed with the Holy Spirit and receive the Lord’s Body and Blood for the first
time.
We trust
the witness of those women and the other disciples. We encounter the Lord in the Sacraments
tonight. We know that the Lord is not
among the dead. He has been raised and
is living in our midst.
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