Homily for Easter Vigil 2006

On this night, the vigil of Easter, communities from all over the world gather in darkness, a darkness that represents all that we are afraid of, our death, sickness, being deserted by those we love, fear of failure as parents or providers, terrorism, and, of course, our own sin. The sum of all our fears is endless. It is a wonder we go out at night at all. And there, in that darkness, a fire was lit and blessed. From it we lit the Paschal Candle proclaimin, “The Light of Christ!”

We met with the Anglican's at St John's Church this year. We then processed back to St Joseph's to continue our vigil. That flame was shared around the community until it's light can fill the church. Then, the Exultet is sung, proclaiming that Christ is the light of this night. And, there, in the light of Christ, we waited in vigil, as we read the scriptures that prepare us to celebrate God's revelation. This is the story of our salvation - how God prepared to rescue us from the power of sin and death.

At this time of year you can't help but notice how the media has difficulty dealing with the extraordinary claim of Christian Easter faith. The media tries to be sensitive to religious sensitivities of all the differing faiths in our community. But its bias towards the prevailing agnostic and humanist mentality shows. Easter certainly does not fit in with expectations of a long weekend at the beach. As a result most TV shows are content with describing what different churches to to celebrate or try to explain the different customs associated with Easter such as Easter Bunnies.

The difficulty is that one cannot understand or appreciate what Easter is celebrating unless you are part of the action. If you are always looking on from outside then the Easter Vigil, and Easter itself make little sense at all. That applies not just to non-believers but also to any of us if we are always spectators who might as well just watch it on DVD as spend time here going through the motions.

We, however, are implicated in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are implicated by our baptism. We are participators in the Paschal mystery of Christ. We enter the tomb with him that we might rise with him as we heard from St Paul (Romans 6:3-11).

Jesus is risen we proclaim. He was not in the tomb. But where is Jesus now? In ancient times the tomb was not just a place for the dead. It was regarded as the entrance to the realm of the dead, Hades, the place of shadows. The empty tomb is a statement by God that the realm of the dead is empty of any power.

Jesus is certainly not in the tomb! So where is he? He is where he said he would be: in Galilee. Galilee is where it all began after Jesus was baptised by the Baptist. Galilee, where Jesus visited all the towns and villages preaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Galilee, where he called the disciples from their employment to follow him.

Galilee is the place where we all live and work and raise our families. Galilee is where his disciples still gather in table fellowship to break bread together as we do tonight.

All that can only happen where there is love. Love is the key to our gathering. Love is the key to being able to recognize the risen Jesus anywhere, be it in the person of one's neighbour or the poor or in the sacraments. The light of Christ is the only light strong enough to dispel our fears and enable us to sing, “Alleluia!”

Or as the Easter Proclamation (Exultet) we sang says: 'The night will be as clear as day; it will become my light, my joy!'

The full text of the Exultet can be found here: Exultet

Fr Graham