Easter Vigil 2024
Fr. Ben Riley
The Gospels all give different details about the events of Easter morning, but one detail remains constant. The tomb is empty. There was a lot of confusion that Easter morning. There was a lot of running back and forth to the tomb to verify reports and investigate what had happened. The four Gospels tend to simplify the back-and-forth trips, or they simply focus on the experience of just a few of the characters involved. However, this Gospel of Mark that we hear tonight, it gives a very clear and realistic account of what these people thought when confronted with their greatest hope, the resurrection of Jesus. The Apostles and holy women respond not with celebration but with distrust, disbelief, fear, and confusion. Someone is tricking us; someone is lying and deceiving us.
This hesitation, this fear of being goaded into a fraud, it was true two thousand years ago, and it is true today. For centuries, the Church has been trying to convince us and the whole world that the offer of God’s mercy in Christ is no trick, no fraud. It is not a trap. It is a gift; He really has risen. He really will forgive sin. And if we choose to follow him, He really will bring us to eternal life with Him. The only way to successfully live this life is to prepare for eternal life.
Do you remember the first words Jesus spoke to the disciples in the upper room after his resurrection? The scene from our Gospel tonight had already taken place. The holy women had reported back to all the disciples that the Lord had risen, but Peter and John run off to the tomb to see for themselves. Later that evening, even though the doors are locked, Jesus appears to the disciples and says, “Peace be with you.”
Remember that only John and the three Mary’s were with Jesus at the crucifixion. All the other disciples abandoned Jesus in his greatest time of need, and Peter even denied knowing him. Jesus could have reprimanded the disciples, become angry, and said they were no longer worthy to be his brothers and sisters. But that’s not what Jesus does. Instead, he says, “Peace be with you.” He forgives them.
Tonight, we are going to welcome nine men and women into the Church through the sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion. They have made a long journey of preparation by deepening their relationship with God through prayer and study. I am very proud of all of them, and I ask that our entire faith community continue to keep them in your prayers. Tonight, you make a definitive choice to follow after Christ, but the road is not an easy one. Jesus never said it would be. He said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” The storms will come. There will be times when you wander off the path. There will be times of doubt, and times of struggle. Please know that you have the support of this faith community, for we are the Body of Christ, and tonight you are being grafted onto that Body.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the tomb was empty, but the disciples were focused. This empty tomb is a sign of hope, not of defeat. The empty tomb gives us hope in salvation, hope in forgiveness of our sins, and hope of eternal life. In the upper room, Jesus could have gotten angry at his disciples for abandoning him on the cross. Jesus could get angry with us when we abandon him by choosing to sin. However, Jesus gets angry; He forgives; and He says, “Peace be with you. “