Easter Vigil Homily
The Lord is Risen! Alleluia….Happy Easter!
They say that when your happy clap your hands! Are you happy? When you’re happy shout with joy! Say Alleluia! When your happy leap with joy! Are you happy? Brothers and sisters, tonight is such special day to rejoice and be glad for the Lord is Risen. I remember when was a child my mother always tells me to jump during this moment not only because of joy but also to gain height. It sounds funny but I always do it every time that I am attending Easter vigil Liturgy. And it truly meaningful that this hour we should jump and leap for joy for the new life brought to us by Jesus resurrected. You have heard our readings tonight which we cannot deny are too long and too many. But their significance reflects the value of what we are celebrating. The experience of the Israelites in the past, our experiences at present are our thanksgiving hymns to God who from his great love, he had given us Jesus.
It was a beautiful song that the Israelites offers to God when the they crossed the Red Sea and saw their enemies destroyed by the returning waters; when they saw themselves free from their cruel slavery in Egypt; when they saw the greatness and the power of their God and his faithfulness to his promises - they sang! - the first song recorded in the Scriptures. And it was a beautiful song - a joyful litany of all the great things their mighty God had done for them.
Tonight we entered the darkened church and mixed up the aisles to our places guided only by the light of the Easter Candle, the light of the risen Christ. We reached out and lit our candle and saw the darkness in the church pushed back by the invading brightness. Their mighty Lord had conquered; he had risen from the dead; he had restored all creation in himself. What else could we do but sing! We stood together in the 'holy light' of the Paschal Candle and the great prayer of praise and exultation which has been sung for almost 1500 years, maybe more, was intoned. This hymn, called 'the Exultet', unveils the mighty works accomplished by the resurrection of Christ our Lord.
Who would dare to be sad on this night? This night makes everything new, sets everything free, bandages every wound and wipes away every tear. It raises the dead and destroys the darkness of sin, restoring us to friendship with God. Not a single corner of the cosmos is left untouched because the light of the resurrection illuminates all creation; nothing is left unredeemed, not even a single second of time past, present, or future. Did you hear the singing again of Gloria?
My dear brothers and sisters, we heard the Gloria so lively and vibrant, have you feel the rejoicing spirit that this moment brought? Tonight we celebrate the Light which answers every question, every doubt that we might ever have. In the presence of the Risen Christ there are no longer any questions; Jesus is the answer to them all. Let each one of us, especially if we have anxieties, fears, hopes, dreams, longings, sins, angers, hurts, sufferings, let each one of us say: Tonight Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and so tonight we too have risen. There is no more to fear. Alleluia
