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Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday (Year A)

A little less than 20 centuries ago, a man walked the roads of a small Roman outpost with great miraculous power and he claimed to be God. As C.S. Lewis has remarked in his famous book, Mere Christianity, either Jesus was an absolute madman or he is who he claims to be: the very Lord of the universe, the king who demands our total allegiance. There is no third option available when one looks at the evidence.

In the suffering of Jesus, in the bodily resurrection of Jesus – wherein his body was completely transformed into a new, resurrected, and glorified body – in Jesus’ ascension into heaven and enthronement as King of Heaven and of Earth, you and I are presented with two options in all of our freedom. We are asked to make a definitive choice in the face of Jesus’ claim.

Either (1) our purpose for gathering on Easter Sunday does not exist and we might as well have been mowing the lawn or sleeping in, or (2) Jesus is who he said he is and the tomb is empty; Jesus has risen, and he now reigns. If the second option is indeed true, then everything changes. In fact, the way we view reality, the way we live our lives, the meaning of “Church” and everything that religion entails becomes the central most important and defining point of our lives.

I believe that all the evidence points us to the second option, an option that remains a choice, a choice for you, a choice for me. So, make a choice and boldly make it. For either Jesus is a failed claimant to the throne or he is the Lord of everything!

The Easter Vigil is celebrated after sundown on Saturday night, and throughout the world, the Church receives into her bosom those who have chosen to respond positively to the reality of Jesus. For this reason, the Scriptural readings for both the Vigil and Sunday proper are filled with baptismal imagery.

In the Vigil, we hear of the Spirit hovering above the waters of creation (Genesis 1:2); the cry of the prophet Isaiah: “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!” (Isaiah 55:1); the promise of God through the prophet Ezekiel: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities”; and the sacramental effect of baptism as well as the implications that has for one’s life in the words of Saint Paul (Romans 6:3-11).

On Easter Sunday, we listen to St. Peter recall the baptism of our Lord, wherein “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:38).

Why all the fuss over baptism at Easter and not at another point in the liturgical year? Because baptism is the principal means by which the fruits of the Resurrection are given to humanity, by which we die to sin and rise to new life in Jesus (See Romans 6:4).