Resurrection Vigil

The Roman Catholic Church waits today near the tomb for the Resurrection to be represented. The Triduum will continue until the declaration that “He is Risen! Alleluia, Alleluia” is exchanged by participants in the Easter Vigil Liturgy. The presentation of Word and Sacrament during the Easter Vigil celebrates the relationship with God which is traced from Creation until today. The old portions of the liturgy, as noted by Friar Jude Winkler, date to the 13^th Century BCE. This year, the date of the celebration coincides with Land Day, an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of the events in 1976 which resulted in the expropriation of Palestinian land for Israeli security. Passover, this year, is also being celebrated during this time. The overall theme of the Word Liturgy which includes 7 passages from Genesis to Luke is the steadfast Love of the Creator-God who persists to call and recall people to a Covenant relationship. In Christian times, the Evangelist to the Gentiles, Paul, proclaims the Resurrection as the invitation from the Father to die to ourselves in Christ so that we might rise with Him to New Life. It does not surprise us that rising to New Life is a real and personal hope of many in our troubled world. The history of human struggle against oppression and death is at least as old as Exodus and as present as today. The themes of the Book of Exodus and the Resurrection of Jesus have fueled hope in people like Julia Esquivel, chosen by the editors of Living in Christ, as the "Thought for Today" on the texts. The Gospel from Luke is, according to Friar Jude, one of three Resurrection accounts from this Evangelist. The news that “He is Risen” is significantly proclaimed to the woman as Word collaborated by the witness of two angels. The requirement of faith and trust in what the women saw as being from God tells us that the understanding and expressions of Abraham, the Prophets, the Evangelists and Jesus are presented to us this evening to build our hope that the Promised Land of milk and honey for all God’s people awaits our trust in Providence.