A NEW CREATION, A NEW PEOPLE

HOLY SATURDAY, EASTER VIGIL      

Gen 1:26-33; Ps 104; Gen 22:1-18; Ps 16:5,8-11; Exo 14:15-15:1; Exo 15; Isa 54:5-14; Ps 30; Isa 55:1-11; Isa 12; Rom 6:3-11; Ps 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Mt 28:1-10

The Creation of People Like God

The Easter Vigil is the celebration of light. The celebration starts around the Easter bonfire. We celebrate a new creation, which completes God's work of creation. In the creation of the physical world, light was the first to come forth at the command of God. It was a physical sort of light that preceded the creation of all physical things. The Easter Vigil is a celebration of the creation of our spiritual light, as the source of our spiritual reality through the resurrection of the Son of Man from death. Our spiritual life, which has its foundation in the Son of Man, became real with his resurrection from death. Because it is a spiritual creation, the emergent reality is spiritual. Subsequently, the contents of our celebration are couched in signs and symbols with deep mystical meanings. The central symbol is the Paschal Candle that is lit from the bonfire and blessed to represent the risen Lord. From the Paschal Candle, we all lit our candles, showing the spiritual life we have received from him at our baptism. With the lighted candles, we process into the church to commence our Exultet, a song of praise in honour of God and the risen Lord. The Exultet highlights that God’s plan is always just and perfect. It notes that original sin, which is a result of the disobedience of our first parents, has gained for us a wonderful salvation beyond our imagination or expectation, making the fault a happy one.

God’s divine plan for our salvation is then traced through the scriptures to highlight God’s faithfulness to his word. Seven readings are chosen from the Old Testament for this purpose. These are meant to prepare our minds to have a deeper grasp of the mystery we celebrate in the resurrection of the Lord. We briefly touch on the first five. The reading from the Genesis account of creation focuses on the creation of man after all other physical things have been created. Man is presented as God’s project, which takes some divine effort, unlike other creatures. “God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’ God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.” Thus, the making of man, male and female, in the image of God was successful. The success was dependent on the word of God without any contribution from them. But making them in his likeness would depend surely on his word, but also on their cooperation. The needed cooperation would be possible only when they desire what God desires for them. Since a desire is an expression of the spirit, they need to receive the Holy Spirit to be in harmony with God’s desire. Since no one knows the mind of God except the Spirit of God. The psalmist expresses this truth. “Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.” Man needs the Spirit of God that comes from the Word of God to be made spiritual.

When they failed to exercise their free will in harmony with God, but chose to disobey his will, thereby falling into sin, God initiated the alternative plan for training the human person in view of sin, by calling Abraham to walk with Him in faith. God promised Abraham many blessings, physical and spiritual, if he would walk in faith and trust. Abraham believed the word of God and followed Him in faith. Obedient to the word of God, Abraham gradually learnt the faithfulness of God and grew in the same virtue. The perfection of Abraham’s training was shown in his offering of his only son to God. “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham, ’ he said. ‘I am here,’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy,’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son.’ Then, looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horn in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his son.” With Abraham, God gathers a people for himself, a spiritual tribe that would house his word and bring forth the Messiah. They would have God as their inheritance, as expressed by the psalmist. “O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize. I keep the Lord ever in my sight: since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.”

Two streams of people (or tribes) flowed from Abraham, from the promise made to him by God. One is the physical fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham, and the other is the spiritual fulfilment of the spiritual content of the promise. The two streams were not mutually exclusive. Some people are in both streams, some are in the physical alone, and some are in the spiritual alone. God used the physical as a type for the spiritual that was yet to be a full reality. Hence, we see the enslavement of the children of Israel in Egypt as a type of the enslavement of those to become spiritual children of God all over the world in the darkness of sin and evil. Therefore, their deliverance symbolised the deliverance of the Christian people through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate. The symbolism of their deliverance was shown on Holy Thursday, with the institution of the Eucharist. The reading from Exodus emphasises the baptismal aspect of our deliverance through water. The Christian people pass to a new spiritual life through the rite of baptism, which drowns their old selves and sins as Pharaoh and his forces were drowned. “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea.” In the same way, every force of evil and sin, original and actual, is drowned in the water of baptism when the minister stretches out his hand and baptises the new people through the power of the blood of the Lamb, who died and rose again.

Subsequently, our Christian life is to be a song of thanksgiving and praise for the wonderful deliverance God has wrought for us through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Israelites sang in Exodus, “I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph! Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea! The Lord is my strength, my song, my salvation. This is my God and extol him, my father’s God and I give him praise.” Before the coming of the Son of Man, the spiritual people were non-existent, as if forgotten by God. Only the people of the physical covenant received visitations from God. Isaiah reveals that all the physical and spiritual blessings showered on the physical people of God were in preparation for the real blessings that would be for the people of the spiritual covenant in Jesus Christ. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Now your creator will be your husband, his name, the Lord of Hosts; your redeemer will be the Holy One of Israel, he is called the God of the whole earth.” This prophecy reveals that God’s presence with the people of physical covenant was to prepare a solid foundation for the spiritual City of God for His spiritual people. The ultimate salvation of God is for us, as the psalmist proclaims. “I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead, restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of this prophecy.

The mystery of Jesus Christ is prophesied in the same Isaiah, when he revealed that the word of God is the secret of all good things and fullness of life. The word of God is the foundation of the spiritual people, who are characterised by their faith in the word of God, as Abraham. “Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy corn without money and eat, and, at no cost, wine and milk.” What we need to feed on the heavenly goodies is faith in the word of God alone. Isaiah confirms the word of God as the foundation of the spiritual people and their everlasting covenant. “With you I will make an everlasting covenant out of the favours promised to David.” The favour promised to David is that God would build him a lasting house. The word of God is that lasting house for man; only faith gives us access to the house. “Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.” An inexhaustible well of salvation was established among us when the Word took flesh and dwelt among us. This was promised: “Truly, God is my salvation. I trust, I shall not fear. For the Lord is my strength, my song, he became my saviour. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” In the Incarnation, God laid the foundation within human nature for the people who would be like God.

All who are deeply thirsty for salvation, as the deer yearns for running streams, are invited to drink from the well of salvation now located within and among. Let us desire God with the psalmist that we may drink deep from the well of the Saviour. “My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; when can I enter and see the face of God?” We need not ask when anymore, for the face of God is here and shines upon us, who believe in the resurrection of the Lord. All who remain true to our baptismal promises behold him face to face spiritually through the Holy Spirit, for we now have a spiritual life and live spiritually. Saint Paul explains this to the Romans as follows. “When we were baptised in Christ Jesus, we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised, we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.” The principle of our new life is faith in the risen Lord. Anyone without faith in the word of God cannot behold his glorious face. To live without faith is to be looking for Jesus in his tomb, a dead Jesus, which is not useful to us. He is risen, and we must elevate our lives and desires to the spiritual through faith, to see and live with him.

The women who visited the tomb in the early hours of Sunday saw only the empty tomb. The angel they beheld encouraged them to go to Galilee with faith to see him. “‘He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him.’ Now I have told you.’ Filled with awe and great joy, the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.” Enlightened by the angel, they believed and were able to encounter the risen Lord themselves. When they had worshipped him, he said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.” They are to return to their familiar places where they will see Jesus. The risen Lord is no longer localised; he follows us everywhere and lives within us in faith. The only limitation to our encountering him in all things and everywhere is our faith and desire. Let us renew our faith in the risen Lord and desire to interact with him, that we may deepen our communion with him daily.

Let us pray: O God, who make this most sacred night radiant with the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, stir up in your Church a spirit of adoption, so that, renewed in body and mind, we may render you undivided service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.