Resurrection of the Lord - Easter Sunday 2007

Acts 10: 34a, 37-43 1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8 John 20: 1-9

In what I consider to be the meaningful tradition in which I was raised at my home parish, there were two additions to the rituals of Holy Week which were part of my experience. These were customs of the parish to which I belonged which were not part of the official liturgy of the Church. They deeply impressed my memory and have remained with me to this day.

On Good Friday, in the days when I was very young, and later when the revisions of the Holy Week began to take effect, there was a way in which the 14^th Station of the Cross, the Burial of Christ, was re-enacted. This event included a procession around the church not only of a statue of the deceased Christ, but also the carrying of the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance which was covered with a sheer veil. Along with the statue, the Blessed Sacrament, exposed in this unusual way, was placed at the “tom” that had been reconstructed at one of the side chapels. It was then guarded (perhaps through the night) by various members of the local unit of Catholic War Veterans.

Then, on Holy Saturday, as I remember, there was an addition to the already lengthy vigil service. Another ritual took place at the end of the service. First, an abbreviated form of Matins and Lauds, the official prayer of the Church or Office, was recited. Then another procession took place with a statue of the Resurrected Christ along with the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance from which the veil was now removed. The removing of the veil over the monstrance, not unlike the removal of the burial cloths from Christ, was accompanied by a three-fold chant which echoes in my mind: Pax vobis, Ego sum (Peace with you, I am [or I am with you]), Nollite timere (Do not be afraid). This chant recalled the greeting of the resurrected Christ to his fearful followers after his resurrection. More importantly, I believe, it recalls the central message of Easter: I am with you, there is no need to be afraid. This is the message not only of the first Easter, but also of this and every Easter celebration. This is the message which is founded on the faith we have in God and in the Risen Lord which we renew. Christ is with us here and now, there is no need to fear.

As I have mentioned, this ritual of Holy Saturday has been indelibly impressed on me. It proclaims loud and clear what we believe, what we are to treasure about our faith. In Jesus Christ, God came into our world. In Jesus Christ, God lived in our world in all aspects of being human except sin. In Jesus Christ, although he was rejected and crucified, he has also risen from the dead; death itself, the ultimate source of terror or fear, has been overcome.

What we believe, what we celebrate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not simply an article of faith, a line in a Creed, words that we say. What we believe, what we celebrate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a means, a manner, an understanding of life and how to live it. As the words that are repeated over and over again in my mind and memory declare: in every way we can be at peace; in all ways, there is nothing or no one that is to be feared.

To live in peace, to live without fear means that we value and we regard all that is in and around us with hope, with trust, with respect. To live in peace and without fear means that we value and respect all life in us and in others. To live in peace and without fear means that what we might call the “commandments” of God are not obligations that we must do or not do, but guides and directions by which we make real for ourselves the importance of God, of ourselves and one another.

In peace and fearless we give praise and honor to God in worship, not out of duty but as a means of joining with others, being supported by others, sustaining others in a real awareness of the goodness of God. In peace and fearless we renew our faith with the genuine commitment that it is in this way that we seek to live our lives. In peace and fearless, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ this day, and every Lord’s Day, as a true expression of our conviction that it is here, nurtured by the food of the Body and Blood of Christ and the faith of each other that we experience the truth of our loving God.