Easter Vigil Sermon – Pope Francis
This is the English translation of the sermon given by Pope Francis during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,.
In the Gospel of this glowing evening of the Easter Vigil, we first meet the women who go the tomb of Jesus with spices to anoint his body (cf. Lk 24:1 -3). They were visiting execute an act of compassion, a conventional act of love and love for a very much departed person, just as we would. They had followed Jesus, they had actually paid attention to his words, they had felt understood by him in their dignity and they had accompanied him to the very end, to Calvary and to the minute when he was taken down from the cross.
We can envision their feelings as they make their way to the burial place: a particular unhappiness, sorrow that Jesus had actually left them, he had died, his life had actually pertained to an end. Life would now embark on as in the past. The women continued to feel love, the love for Jesus which now led them to his burial place. However at this point, something totally brand-new and unanticipated takes place, something which upsets their hearts and their strategies, something which will upset their whole lives: they see the stone eliminated from the tomb, they draw near and they do not find the Lord’s body. It is an occasion which leaves them perplexed, reluctant, filled with concerns: “What took place?”, “What is the meaning of all this?” (cf. Lk 24:4). Doesn’t the exact same thing additionally happen to us when something totally brand-new happens in our daily life? We stop short, we do not comprehend, we have no idea what to do.
Freshness typically makes us afraid, including the newness which God brings us, the freshness which God asks of us. We are like the Apostles in the Gospel: typically we would choose to hang on to our own protection, to stand in front of a tomb, to think of someone who has died, someone who eventually lives on only as a memory, like the excellent historic figures from the past. We are scared of God’s surprises. Dear brothers and sisters, we hesitate of God’s surprises! He constantly shocks us! The Lord is like that.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be closed to the freshness that God desires to bring into our lives! Are we typically tired, disheartened and unfortunate? Do we feel analyzed down by our sins? Do we think that we won’t be able to cope? Let us not close our hearts, let us not lose self-confidence, let us never provide up: there are no scenarios which God can not alter, there is no sin which he can not forgive if just we open ourselves to him.
But let us go back to the Gospel, to the women, and take one action further. They discover the tomb empty, the body of Jesus is not there, something brand-new has actually happened, however all this still does not tell them anything particular: it raises questions; it leaves them baffled, without offering an answer. And suddenly there are two men in dazzling clothes who say: “Why do you search for the living amongst the dead? He is not right here; however has increased” (Lk 24:5 -6). Exactly what was a simple act, done definitely out of love– going to the tomb– has actually now become an event, a really life-changing event.
Nothing remains as it was before, not only in the lives of those women, however likewise in our own lives and in the history of mankind. Jesus is not dead! He has increased! He is alive! He does not simply return to life; rather, he is life itself, because he is the Son of God, the living God (cf. Num 14:21 -28; Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10). Jesus no longer belongs to the past, however lives in today and is projected towards the future; Jesus is the long lasting “today” of God. This is how the newness of God appears to the women, the disciples and all of us: as success over sin, evil and death, over everything that crushes life and makes it appear less human. And this is a message suggested for me and for you dear sister, for you dear brother. How frequently does Love need to tell us: Why do you look for the living among the dead? Our daily issues and concerns can cover us up in ourselves, in despair and bitterness … which is where death is. That is not the place to search for the One who is alive!
Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with count on: he is life! If until now you have remained him at a distance, advance. He will get you with open arms. If you have actually been indifferent, take a danger: you will not be disappointed. If following him appears tough, don’t be afraid, trust him, be positive that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are searching for and the strength to live as he would have you do.
There is one last little aspect that I would such as to highlight in the Gospel for this Easter Vigil. The women run into the newness of God. Jesus has risen, he is alive! Faced with the empty tomb and the two men in great clothing, their first response is one of fear: “they were frightened and bowed their faced to the ground”, Saint Luke tells us– they didn’t even have courage to look. When they heard the message of the Resurrection, they accept it in faith. The 2 men in amazing clothes told them something of crucial significance: bear in mind. “Remember what he informed you when he was still in Galilee … And they remembered his words” (Lk 24:6,8). This was the invite to bear in mind their encounter with Jesus, to bear in mind his words, his activities, his life; and it is specifically this liking remembrance of their experience with the Master that enabled the women to conquer their concern and to bring the message of the Resurrection to the Apostles and all the others (cf. Lk 24:9). To bear in mind exactly what God has actually done and continues to do for me, for us, to bear in mind the road we have actually taken a trip; this is exactly what opens our hearts to wish for the future. May we find out to remember every little thing that God has actually done in our lives.
On this radiant night, let us invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who cherished all these occasions in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19,51) and ask the Lord to give us a share in his Resurrection. Might he open us to the freshness that transforms; to the beautiful surprises of God. May he make us males and females capable of bearing in mind all that he has finished our own lives and in the history of our world. May he assist us to feel his presence as the one who is alive and at work in our middle. And might he teach us every day, dear brothers and sisters, not to look among the dead for the Living One. Amen.
