Reflection at the Easter Vigil
Saturday, April 23, 2011
by Sister Attracta Kelly, OP, Prioress

We have over our lifetime and especially during the past 40 days accompanied Jesus in his life of ministry which ultimately brought Him to his death on the cross. Tonight we rejoice. We sing our alleluias. Jesus is risen! We celebrate Jesus' resurrection. We lit the new fire, symbol of life that inflames us with hope. From that fire, we lit our candles and proclaimed the glorious Exsultet: Rejoice. Sing. Exult heavenly powers, choirs of angels, all creation, Jesus Christ is risen! 

My reflection tonight, then, is what does this resurrection of Jesus mean for you and for me? Is our hope convinced in the possibility of resurrection, of new life for ourselves?

Honestly, for us here in Michigan, we probably have a better chance than most to practice that hope for new life. Winter takes her time with us and, when we finally believe it has given way to spring, we get a blanket of snow once again. However, there is life. What seemed lifeless now abounds with life, with new possibilities and delights. And tonight we give thanks for Jesus of Nazareth, for leading us to put our hope and trust in the Spirit of Life and Love moving in the depths of our being.  

It was no doubt this same Spirit of Life and Love that led the two Marys we heard about in Matthew’s Gospel. We can hardly begin to imagine what it must have been like for these two women disciples setting out on their own to go to the tomb where Jesus was placed. They knew they had to go to finish the burial ritual. They loved Jesus, and even though they knew they were putting themselves in danger, they had to venture out on their own. All the men followers of Jesus, we are told, were locked away in a safe room. 

The women had no assurance of their own safety. After all, they were the ones who followed Jesus to Calvary, stayed with him while he died on the cross. Clearly they could be identified by the authorities. No doubt they felt terribly sad. Jesus was dead, and I’m sure their world seemed rather hopeless. But their love gave them hope and courage no matter the danger.

And then we are told suddenly an angel appears and, as always, brings God’s reassuring words: “Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus. He is not here. He is risen.” Go tell the disciples.Tell everyone. Do not be afraid …

This, the resurrection of Jesus, is God's reassurance to all of us: Do not be afraid of life. Do not be afraid of death.

Human death is the greatest mystery we face. We are reassured tonight to look to the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus to throw light on the mystery of death for us. Death for Jesus was, as it will be for us, a dying into God, a transformation into a way of existence for which we have no images and no clear ideas of how it may happen.

However, the message is announced to us tonight in our Easter liturgy “Do not look for the living among the dead.” Jesus has overcome death – not just for himself, but for all of us. Jesus is the first to rise from the dead, but we are to follow him. Just as the expectation of spring takes the sting out of winter, so the resurrection of Jesus takes the sting out of death for us all.

Through the resurrection of Jesus, we believe that death is not the end, but rather a transformation into new possibilities – or, as St Paul says, into the newness of life.

We proclaim and celebrate Easter because it links Jesus with all life, with transformation and with possibility of life beyond our imagining.

We give thanks and rejoice that Jesus so clearly and courageously linked our living and our dying with living on in God. Tonight, we rejoice that Jesus lives on, as we all will live on in God. Easter helps us face our own death with courage and hope.

By his resurrection Jesus created a “new heaven and a new earth.” He calls us to this. Do we dare join with him in bringing about this new heaven and new earth where everyone and everything is transformed? Do we dare to believe that the Spirit of Life and Love gives us the same courage as the two Marys to love, to risk our lives, and even to give our lives?

We are the Easter people, the people who are called upon to proclaim that Christ is risen, to proclaim that glorious truth, not only with the words on our lips but with the boldness of our faith, with the smiles on our faces and with the joy in our hearts. Like the two Marys, let us go forth believing that resurrection gives us the courage to let ourselves and others live our alleluias, not just during the Easter season but every day of our lives.