Homily Easter Vigil: The joy of the Resurection

Homily for Easter Vigil Year B 2018 

Introduction 

For Catholics, the liturgy this week has offered a variety of unusual rituals and symbols, some of which might seem outright bizarre especially for the younger members of our congregation. 

• We began with a procession of palms on Sunday, something like our Mardi Gras parades, but without the beads and naughty behaviour. 
• On Holy Thursday we washed the feet of twelve people, carried the Blessed Sacrament away, leaving the sanctuary bare. 
• Good Friday had us doing the Way of Cross in Church and outside Church and adoring the Cross. 
• Tonight is the climax with the many readings from the Bible, singing the Exsultet, the procession with candles and the lighting of the fire.  One naughty young man, described the Easter Vigil as the barbecue service.   

But why all these rituals and ceremonies? 

The Church uses all these ceremonies for the same reason companies use commercials to sell us stuff.  Companies know that it is not enough to tell people about a product with words; you must also appeal to the other senses and even the inner sense of imagination to help them get the message.  That is why companies paid five million dollars for a 30-second television commercial during this year’s Super Bowl.  To sell what? Budweiser, Doritos and Deodorant? 

A few years ago I saw a really creative soft-drink commercial on TV.  A young boy in a small town goes to a soda vending machine and after inserting two quarters takes out two cans of Coca Cola.  But that is not the end of the story.  Because the boy is of short stature, he places the two cans of Coke on the ground, about a foot apart, stands on them and now can press the button higher up.  And so he presses the button for Pepsi, gets his can of Pepsi soda and happily walks away.  The commercial ends with the words: “The joy of Pepsi.” 

Scripture and Theology 

The ceremonies of this week and especially tonight are trying to pass on to us a  much more profound message: which is: “The joy of the resurrection.” 

The joy of the resurrection is the central message of the Easter story and indeed the central message of our Christian faith.  Easter tells us that the failure of Good Friday was only apparent; God has confirmed all that Jesus said and did by raising him from the dead.  And most importantly, because Jesus rose from the dead, we too have a shot at resurrection and at life with God forever. 

And yet this message is not always easy to understand.  Even the first disciples could not wrap their heads around it. 

• Mary Magdalene went to the tomb very early in the morning, to attend to the body of her beloved Lord, but was shocked to find an empty tomb. 
• On hearing the news about the empty tomb, “The Disciple Jesus Loved,” and Peter raced to the tomb and saw the empty burial cloths. 
• Later that evening the Lord appeared to the whole group of shocked disciples, except Thomas who was playing hooky; he also appeared to the two disciples travelling to Emmaus and they could not recognize him. 

Thankfully for us, these first witnesses of the resurrection believed and have passed on their testimony.  And because they believed, we also believe. 

But we also rely on the rituals of our liturgy, which explain this message to us in such a way that it sticks. 

1. While the Fiat commercial uses a beautiful woman to suggest that the fiat car is just as beautiful, we bless water that washes away our sin in baptism and presents us to God clean and truly beautiful!  After all St. Paul tells us that, as we have been baptized with the Lord we shall also rise with him. 
2. While the Budweiser commercial uses a puppy to suggest that their beer is like a very close friend, we light a fire and process with candles to teach us that only the resurrection brings true and everlasting friendship with God. 
3. While the goofy commercials use talking geckos to sell us insurance, talking babies to sell us financial services and talking teddy-bears to sell us toilet paper, our strange Holy Week rituals draw us into a sense of mystery.  We realize that we cannot fully understand the resurrection and will understand it completely only when we get to the other side. 

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Christian Life 

But it is not enough for a commercial to be informative, amusing or intriguing.  A commercial must convince us to go and buy the product.  Similarly, these Holy Week rituals and especially those of tonight must leave a lasting impact on our lives, even if only in a subliminal way.  After experiencing the Easter commercial we must live like people who know the joy of the resurrection: in our hearts, minds and actions. 

As we Catholics know, every Sunday is a small Easter, for every Sunday is a celebration of the death and resurrection of Our Lord.  That is why we are required to attend Mass on Sunday, not simply to fulfil some law of the Church, but because we want to take part in that unique event of our salvation.  And so, can we renew our observance of Sunday as the day set apart for the Lord, the day the Lord defeated death, the day the Lord has made for us to rejoice? 

• We could recommit ourselves to attending Sunday Mass not only regularly but also with deep devotion and attention. 
• We could recommit ourselves to making Sunday a family day, when we spend time with family and with relatives and friends. 
• We could recommit ourselves to making Sunday a time to learn more about our faith by reading the Scriptures and the Catechism. 

And why do we do these things?  Let me share a story about Boudreaux and Thibodeaux, famous characters from Louisiana.  Boudreaux was walking home from the bar and he saw Thibodeaux on his knees right under the street light, searching for something.  “What are you looking for?” he asked.  “I am looking for my house keys,” said Thibodeaux.  His buddy also got down on all fours under the light and joined in the search. After looking for almost half an hour, Boudreaux asked his friend if he was sure that he had lost them in this very area. "Oh, no!” said Thibodeaux.  “I lost them away over there in the dark alley."  Shocked and surprised at that answer, Boudreaux asked him why he was looking for them in this spot. "Oh", Thibodeaux said, "because the light is better here under the street lamp". 

Where are we searching for the key to life, to true happiness?  Are we searching for it in the dark alleys of this world or are we searching for that key under the guidance of the light of the resurrection? 

Conclusion 

Finally, one other Easter tradition is the Easter egg.  This tradition comes from the practice of having to give up eggs during Lent, thereby leading to a surplus of eggs at Easter.  But this tradition also teaches about the meaning of Easter. 

Like the egg represents new life, Easter brings us new beginnings, new birth and new life in Christ.  We begin this new life on this side of heaven by our faith, worship and service, so that at the Resurrection, we shall be found worthy to be admitted into heaven.  What new thing in your life are you going to do or to resume doing, as a result of this Easter celebration?  What's your new egg?