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Easter Vigil 2007 Each year as the gospel of the Easter Vigil is read I cannot help but think how irrational God's decision seems to entrust the message of the resurrection to a group of women rushing timidly in the dawn to minister to a dead body. But strangely enough the weakness of the witnesses greatly increases the credibility of the story. In the ancient world no one would have concocted a fictitious resurrection story in such a way that the message was transmitted by three women. Three women who find an empty tomb and receive the message from angels! To both Jewish and pagan audiences the story must have appeared just as preposterous as that of the Virgin birth. They must have interrupted Peter or Paul or James or John, by saying: "O come on! Farfetched! You don't want us to believe that, do you!" But then I realize what I should have realized long ago that God entrusts the miracle of life -- of birth, of new life to be born - to women, to my mother, to your mother, to all the mothers among us who are most closely in touch with God's creative power, with God’s bringing about new human lives from where there was no life, calling to life new persons out of nothing, making new beginnings. God has entrusted the miracle of natural life in a special way to women. Is it then so surprising that he entrusted to a group of women the evidences of risen life? Was it not with Mary and Martha that Jesus shared the grief of Lazarus's death and then, in their presence, called Lazarus out of the tomb? Was it not with the widow of Naim, mourning the loss of her only son, that Jesus has revealed the power of his resurrection? Was it not to the prayers of St. Monica, crying over the spiritual death of her son, that God granted the conversion, the spiritual rebirth, of her son Augustine? And maybe even today, first and foremost, it is on account of praying women that God shows his power and calls to new life what is lost, what appears to be lifeless? This world of ours is full of expectations, waiting for miracles of new beginnings, unexpected gifts, new life being born from pure grace, basic changes, sharp turns, conversions, new momentum, the victory of hope over the realm of hopelessness - all this cannot be obtained unless we have the attitude of the three Marys, clinging to Jesus even in the face of the evidence that he is dead. During the last two days we have spent quite a bit of time looking at the mystery of the cross and dwelling in the realm of sin and death. But did you discover your own presence in the passion story as it was told on Good Friday? As the song asks, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Were you present on Thursday, when Judas betrayed him? Have you met the traitor within yourself while listening to the story? Were you there when Peter denied him? Maybe you were there also earlier, when Peter took a solemn oath that he would never deny or betray or abandon him? For you made the same promise and oath. Have you seen yourself caught in the pettiness of fear, in the smallness of cowardice, in the lack of loyalty when the disciples ran away? Or maybe you saw yourself in the crowd shouting that Barabbas be released. And maybe you sympathized with Pilate and his arrogance, asking if there was any such thing that you can call the Truth? And maybe there were times in our lives when we were there as he was slapped, mocked and ridiculed, -- did you recognize your own sins committed against human dignity, have you seen your own sins that slapped Jesus or have put a crown of thorns upon him? Have you met your own rebellion shouting, "We do not want this to be our king." For in fact we did not want anyone to rule over us, for we are old enough or good enough or smart enough to make our own decisions, to be as responsible -- or irresponsible -- as we choose to be. But if we identified our own role in the Passion story, then now, in the middle of the night, we should know that there is but one hope: new life, new chance, new beginning, new birth coming from the grace of the Empty Tomb We do not seek the living among the dead; we do not cling to tombs, we do not want to minister to a passing, mortal life. We seek the Lord Jesus who can transform our life. I am thirsting for the living water, I thirst for the gift of faith that can move mountains. I want to meet angels that tell me he is risen and is waiting for me to meet him, I want to embrace his feet when I am serving his brothers and sisters. I want to reach his life when I embrace, accept, live with full dedication my chores on this earth. I want to perceive with the clarity of the light of Easter my call to love: in order to love as he did. I want to leave behind fear and selfishness and obtain the freedom of the children of God. Let this Easter be an exit from doubt, an end to being lukewarm, and a beginning to being fully trustful. We need a point of departure into a life where he reigns sovereign so that we can follow him wherever he leads us. As the Lord enters our soul today, let us ask him to teach us the meaning of the word "alleluia," we have just sung, let him teach us to praise him with a renewed life in a secure and never ceasing song of praise. Amen.
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