The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Triduum celebration of the Easter Vigil when this year, Passover and Holy Week coincide, prompts some comparisons and offers a study of the significant differences as we wait at the tomb with Christians for Jesus Resurrection.
The Headings for the Texts at the Vigil suggest the themes proclaimed this night.
We explore the texts and psalm responses more closely in the links below:
First Reading:
Genesis 1:1--2:2 or 1:1, 26-31
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalms 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35,
or Psalms 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22
Second Reading:
Genesis 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalms 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11
Third Reading:
Responsorial Psalm:
Exodus 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18
Fourth Reading:
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Fifth Reading:
Responsorial Psalm:
Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
Sixth Reading:
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalms 19:8, 9, 10, 11
Seventh Reading:
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalms 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4,
or Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6,
or Psalms 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
Epistle:
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalms 118:1-2, 16, 17, 22-23
Gospel:
John Barton, Emeritus Oriel & Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture in the University of Oxford and author of A History of the Bible, surveys the readings that Christians and Jews attend to during the Easter Vigil and the Passover seder, respectively, and considers what these texts tell us about how Scripture is understood in the two faiths. ‘The narrative that Jews construct out of the Hebrew Bible is distinctively different from the story Christians tell on the basis of these same books.
The difference was well summed up by the Jewish scholar, Moshe Goshen-Gottstein: for Christians, he wrote, the Old Testament is about God, humanity and salvation; for Jews, the Hebrew Bible is about God, people and land. The vision of the Exsultet, and of the selection of readings that follow it, is of salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ for anyone who is baptised and believes – which is both universalistic and particularistic at the same time. The vision of the Passover haggadah is of liberation for Jews in the present hostile world through the power of the God who once acted to set them free from bondage in Egypt, and who wishes them to be a blessing to the whole world through their steadfast witness and espousal of values of truth and justice – which is also both particularistic and universalistic. (Barton, 2021)
Eileen Wirth is trying to imagine what the first Holy Saturday was like for Mary.
Naturally, she was overwhelmed with sadness but how did she struggle through the actual day? Did her family stay with her to comfort her? Did she visit the tomb or was she too exhausted? Did the disciples stand watch to protect her from the enemies of Jesus? How fearful were they? Did some simply disappear? What did they say to each other?
All of them, including Mary, had heard Jesus promise that he would rise but were they so overwhelmed with horror that they still believed this? Hoped, maybe, but believed? Surely “doubting Thomas” wasn’t the only one to question this incredible prophecy.
This brings us to how to spend Holy Saturday today as we ponder both what those closest to Jesus endured and the depth of our own faith in times of loss. . If we skip over the sadness, uncertainty and hope of Holy Saturday, we are missing an important part of this season.
Spend a little time standing watch with Mary and drawing close to her in conclusion of the Lenten season. This will make the alleluias on Sunday even sweeter. (Wirth, n.d.)
The commentary by Don Schwager asks “Why Do You Seek the Living among the Dead?”
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 28:1-10 comments that speaking through Mary Magdalene, Jesus tells the apostles, and us, “Go to Galilee, and there [you] will see me” (Matthew 28:10).
This can be a time of beginnings for us as well. Lent is over, and we are now on the cusp of something new and exciting: Christ is risen, and redemption is ours! Every one of our sins has been washed away, and we can start anew, filled with the joy of salvation. And just like the apostles, we can take up a new mission: to live as witnesses to the resurrection. By living in the joy of our redemption, we can show our neighbors that Jesus truly is alive and that he is ready to work wonders in their lives.
So run to the empty tomb tonight and marvel at the sight. Then head for Galilee. Tomorrow is a new day, and the risen Jesus is waiting to meet you!
“All praise to you, risen Lord Jesus! You make all things new!” (Meditation on Matthew 28:1-10, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler traces salvation history as expressed in the texts of the Easter Vigil. The witness of Mary and Mary Magdalene of Jesus Resurrection changed the rules in the deeply Jewish Gospel from Matthew. Friar Jude notes the minor differences in the events post Resurrection in the Gospels is a reflection of the nature of human testimony.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares a poem from Methodist minister Jan Richardson, who invites us to wait faithfully at the tomb, in the “belly of the whale,” trusting in the Resurrection.
Therefore I Will Hope
For Holy Saturday“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
—Lamentations 3:24I have no cause
to linger beside
this place of death,no reason
to keep vigil
where life has left,and yet I cannot go,
cannot bring myself
to cleave myself
from here,can only pray
that this waiting
might yet be a blessing
and this grieving
yet a blessing
and this stone
yet a blessing
and this silence
yet a blessing
still. still. (Rohr, 2023)
References
Barton, J. (2021, March 31). This most holy night. Thinking Faith. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/most-holy-night
Meditation on Matthew 28:1-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/04/08/649609/
Rohr, R. (2023, April 8). The Sign of Jonah: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-sign-of-jonah-weekly-summary-2023-04-08/
Wirth, E. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040823.html
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