Holy Saturday: At the Easter Vigil, on the Holy Night of Easter

Tonight we are especially aware that Eucharistic prayer is the center and source of the life of the Church, resting on the certainty of faith that the Risen Christ is present under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine. Tonight’s liturgy especially allows us to experience the post-transfiguration invocation, to cry out with hope: “Your death we proclaim, and your resurrection we proclaim until you come in glory.” Or the second possibility of exclaiming the answer, “Savior of the world, save us, for you have redeemed us by your cross and resurrection.” This night reminds us of the most important historical event, Christ’s resurrection, which is the golden thread of Christian hope until the end of time. The Resurrection is the crowning of history and the confirmation that man’s salvation is not a utopia but a reality. Christ’s victory over all evil is the promise of our resurrection.

We know that every Sunday throughout the year is a day for us Catholic Christians to remember this event. Indeed, many things, events, and people often grow stale to us sinful and weak ones. This night and tomorrow, we are to use it to make us more aware of the significance and enthusiasm of the apostles, the disciples, the women, and all who believed in Christ’s resurrection. This reality has been the basis of faith and the essential content of proclamation since the beginning of Christianity. Christians have always spoken of Christ’s resurrection: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again…” (1 Sol 4:14); “…we believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, delivered for our sins and raised again for our justification” (Rom 4:24-25). The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate truth of our faith in Christ. It has been confirmed from the first Church and remains true today as an essential part of the mystery of our salvation. Paul’s words: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is in vain. And then we shall be found to be false witnesses of God because we have testified against God that he raised Christ whom he did not raise.” (1 Cor. 15:14-15), we regard as the cornerstone of the mystery of Christ and the absolute criterion of the truth of his gospel. It is beautiful to realize the Apostle’s words: “I delivered to you what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures: that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Paul also writes of other events that Christ appeared to Cephas-Peter, then to the Twelve, then to more than five hundred brethren at one time, as well as to James, and he writes of himself: “… and to the last of all, as to one who was not a sinner, he also appeared to me.” (1 Cor. 15:5-8). In the Creed, we confess that Jesus “died and was buried… on the third day he was raised from the dead.” It says precisely when Jesus rose from the dead and also that He was killed. However, the death of Jesus did not result in the decomposition of the body as it did for the young man of Naima, Jairus’ daughter, or Lazarus. Lazarus’ body on the fourth day already stank. Jesus definitively defeated death by His resurrection. After that, Jesus appeared to several people. On Sunday at dawn to three women: Mary Magdalene, Mary of James, and Salome. To the apostles, first without Thomas and a second time in the presence of Thomas. Especially to the Apostle Peter. On Sunday morning, the two disciples went to Emma. To more than five hundred brethren at one time, of whom the apostle remarks that many were still living. The Acts of the Apostles mentions James the Apostle, called “the younger,” who was one of the relatives of the Lord Jesus, or “brethren,” and who enjoyed great attention in Jerusalem. On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul, so Paul became equally a witness of the Risen One after the ascension of the Lord. We see from Scripture how the witnesses’ behavior changes after encountering the Risen One. The state of irritability, disappointment, and agitation over the Master’s inglorious end changes so much that they are willing to lay down their lives for Christ.

The Resurrection of Christ is not just a kind of rebirth, a return to earthly life with the inevitable second death, as was the case with those whom Jesus raised from the dead, for they had to die again. Resurrection does not just mean the soul’s immortality as understood by the Gnostics, widespread in Christianity’s early days. In that case, it would be only a kind of “half-resurrection.” We understand the Resurrection of Christ as the entry of the whole body of Jesus, that is, the entire human side of him, into life without end. Thus the resurrection of Jesus is not even a reincarnation; a reincarnation, samsara, such as is believed in Hinduism or Buddhism, for example, whereby one speaks of the rebirth or return of a person to the next earthly life by the passing or transmigration of the soul from one body to another in a series of innumerable repetitions. Today we remember the resurrection of Christ because this resurrection is not a mere remembrance of Jesus and his teachings but his presence. The resurrection is not some psychological creation of the disciples but a concrete event that Jesus foretold to the disciples. From the beginning, Christians have spoken of the resurrection of Christ as a fact: “The Lord has truly risen from the dead and appeared to Simon.” (Luke 24:34).

So, they didn’t believe in deception or hallucination. It must be remembered today that the disciples’ faith in Christ is immediately based on two specific facts. It is the empty tomb and the recurring appearances of Jesus. The Gospels give two kinds of accounts of the appearances of Christ, namely: the private, given freely when Jesus appears to the women, Magdalene, the Emma us disciples, and the official, when he appears to the apostles, using a general rigid scheme that involves Jesus’ appearance and his greeting, followed by the disciples’ incredulous response, Jesus’ rebuke, then the proof that it is him, and the confirmation of their mission.

Today we accept the resurrection of the Lord Jesus as God the Father’s response to Jesus’ condemnation and the suffering that people inflicted on him. The resurrection reveals Jesus as “Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36), “Lord and God” (Jn. 20:28), and “the Son of God” (Acts 13:33). Today we believe and confess that Jesus is faithful, “the resurrection and the life” ( Jn. 11:25). Also, “he was put to death, but made alive by the Spirit.” (1Pe 3:18). Jesus’ resurrection precedes our future resurrections as their first fruits. We understand the resurrection as the establishment of friendship between God and humanity. Yes, the resurrection is also the fulfillment of the human expectation of immortality and transcendence. It is also the experience of our vocation, mission, liberation, and forgiveness. The Resurrection is the reality of the elevation of woman as a disciple, hearer, and messenger of God’s Word. Faithfulness and piety have given women courage.

We realize what we gain by Christ’s resurrection. We should approach this event faithfully, honestly, and responsibly. God is pleased with such behavior from us and will reward it. An example may suggest something to us: Cardinal Alexander Farnese, later Pope Paul III, was said to have been very generous. Once a poor woman begged him for five pieces of silver, which she needed in her time of need. The cardinal sent his secretary, who brought her 50 pieces of silver. “That’s a mistake; I only asked for five,” said the woman. The secretary assured her that the note said 50. The woman, ticket in hand, went to the cardinal and spoke: “Eminence, you were mistaken by one zero.” “Indeed, you are right,” smiled the Cardinal. He took the pen and added another zero. The woman touched and read 500 pieces of silver.
Accepting Christ’s Resurrection with faith becomes our most fabulous riches, hope, and security.

Our participation in the liturgy today enriches us. We commemorate the most significant event in human history. Christ has indeed risen from the dead, alleluia.