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A Night of Joy, a Night of Hope, and a Night of Challenge
Homily St. Joseph Parish, Detroit
This is the Great Night, that of the Resurrection of the Dead. For if Jesus did not rise from the dead in the flesh, then we are still in our sins,[1] and if we will not all rise from the dead in the flesh at the end of time, then our faith is vain, and all mankind should only despair. But our hearts were not made for despair. We are tempted to it, but we resist it. Even over the last three days, we have shed many tears, or should have, for our sins. Yet all hope is not lost. All hope, on the contrary, has been given to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. And in the midst of the dark, light is given us. And in the midst of our forty days of desert this lent, the water is blessed. And when all hope is lost, our God himself comes personally to save us, to save you. Blessed night, but blessed only for those who believe. Shortly, in this very assembly, in just a few minutes, we shall witness a resurrection. Yes, a resurrection! One of our brothers, David Schmick, will be risen to the new life of grace by the saving waters of baptism. He will be baptized into the Church in order to receive Holy Communion, and all other sacraments besides. In the presence of his wife and children, one of whom is one of our altar servers today, even his marriage, blessed years ago by the Church, will be transformed into the sacrament and become a source of grace day after day, minute after minute, year after year. He will receive all the goods of the Church, including the intercession of all the angels and saints. His sins will be washed away, as we too have had our sins washed away, first original sin, then actual sins, and then all the punishment due to sin, and when God washes these things away, they are gone forever. He will be reborn in the spirit, re-created. After Baptism he will be sealed with the Holy Spirit by the sacrament of confirmation, and with all of us, will come to the table of the Lord, and there the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whose flesh was taken from the ever Virgin Mary, will over him that same flesh, the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews in ancient days followed Moses through the Red Sea, and so the chosen people was saved from Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers. God had only revealed to them in signs what we see tonight in reality; and yet the true vision of heaven will finally show us what we have always wanted to see, God face to face. The Israelites then were freed after a long night of terror. Jesus frees us from the terror of sin. The Israelites saw the waters kill Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers. Jesus washes away Satan and demons, his prompts and works. Moses saved the nation from slavery to Egypt, and Jesus frees us by baptism, and then by sacramental reconciliation, from every slavery to the devil, the flesh and the world. The Jews could not stand to see the face of Moses, for it shown with God’s glory. Yet we can stand to look upon the Eucharist, and God has made himself accessible to us. They saw Moses stretch out his hand and bring an end to his enemies; we see the priest stretch out his hand to baptize, to bless, to forgive, to seal, to anoint. Moses served as only a prophet, a sign, a promise; Jesus is the fulfillment of all things, the Savior, the Messiah, the Incarnate Lord. And so at this Easter Vigil, let us renew everything in us that is from the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church which Jesus Christ gave us. Let us renew our promises to live faithful to what was given us, as a priceless gift, at our baptism. Let us start anew to renounce our sins – and yet I know there are still some of you too proud, to enslaved to sin to truly let go, and I pray and fast for you. But if Jesus has risen from the dead, why do so many Catholics continue to live enslaved to sin? It is this slavery to sin which is the cause of the priest crisis, the cause of the marriage crisis, the source of all the corruption which has afflicted our poor Church, the origin of every evil in the world today, and the one thing which keeps countless souls out of heaven forever. Jesus has risen from the dead in his flesh. The head cloth at his burial was removed, for it was time to show the glory of the Father. Death came into the world by sin, and Jesus conquered death. If you wish to conquer death, live in Jesus Christ, renounce your sins, and from this day forward, live in the midst of the world but not as one who belongs to the world. Live in Christ, for if God is for you, who can be against you? Stand up for your faith among your neighbors, for if Jesus conquered sin by his resurrection, what have you to fear? The resurrection is no symbol, no, it is the resurrection of the flesh. Many today claim that the resurrection is just a symbol of starting over, a myth to give hope, a nice story to show how we can rise above our problems. Those conclusions may well be drawn from the resurrection. But it is not a symbol, it is a reality. And look at your own body, see your hands. You will die, you will corrupt into dust in the earth, and you too will rise again, to be eternally rewarded or punished in the flesh. Your flesh will be reunited to your soul for all eternity, as Jesus’ flesh is reunited to Jesus’ human soul, and forever to his divinity in heaven forever with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is a night of joy, a night of hope, and a night of challenge. Joy, for Jesus the Lord has risen from the dead. Hope, because God has given us all we need to get to heaven, if only we apply the means he has given us, starting with Baptism, as our brother will in just a few moments more. Challenge, because following Christ is not easy, and it is as beautiful and magnificent as difficult and demanding. May our Lord Jesus this very night give hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, light to the blind of faith, surety for the discouraged, purity for the tempted, detachment for the enslaved, and the victory of grace to all who believe in him and strive to follow in his victorious path. Amen. |