Jesus, Our Passover

 

On April 22, our Jewish brothers and sisters will be celebrating the holy feast of Passover.

 Every year, they gather to remember all the wonders God performed to free them from slavery in Egypt. When God sent the angel to kill all the first-born sons of the Egyptians, he passed over the homes of the Hebrews who smeared the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts. When the pharaoh changed his mind about allowing them to leave and sent his army to kill them in the desert, they remember how God dried up the Red Sea and allowed them to pass over it to escape the chariots that were pursuing them. During these days of celebration, they will also recall how God led them through the desert with a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night.

 When Jews celebrate the Passover, they are not only calling to mind historical events of the distant past. They are not just reenacting something that happened long ago to their ancestors. Rather, they celebrate Passover as if they themselves- both as individuals and as a people were liberated from slavery. It is not only the story of what God did in the past but what He continues to do for them in the present. It is not only the story of their ancestors that they recall but their own story.

 As Christians, we too celebrate the liberation of our Jewish brothers and sisters from slavery in Egypt. Like them, we see it not only as their story as God’s chosen people but as our story as fellow believers in the God of the Bible. However, we see God’s work on behalf of His people as a foreshadowing- that is, as a sort of preview- of the liberation that God would accomplish in Jesus Christ.

 Just as the people of Israel were saved by smearing blood on their doorposts, so we are saved by the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Just as the people of Israel were saved from Pharaoh's army by passing over the waters of the Red Sea, so we are saved by passing through the waters of baptism. Just as the people of Israel were led through the desert by a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night, we are led through this life by God’s word and by the teaching of the Church which Jesus established.

All the symbols we use during the Easter Vigil point to this. Our procession into church at the beginning of Mass is led by incense, representing the column of cloud. The Easter candle which is blessed at the door of the church, represents the column of fire. As each of us lights our individual candles from the flame of the Easter candle, a darkened church becomes flooded with light. This symbolizes the truth that our world was dark until Jesus came to fill it with the light of God’s love and truth. Later on in this Mass, after we renew our baptismal vows, we bless the waters of the baptismal font, calling to mind that our salvation comes through our baptism.

 On the holy night of Easter - the holiest night for Christians- we celebrate the Passover of Jesus Christ from death into life- and our Passover from death into life along with Him. 

It is not just a story from the past but it is our story. Our world is different- our lives are different- because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead

A World Transformed By The Resurrection Of Jesus

 

 There is no celebration like the liturgy we celebrate at the Easter Vigil. 

The Church pulls out all the stops- fire, candles, water, incense, extra readings, special songs. All of it is meant to capture the grandeur, the might and the joy of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The evening starts with a darkened church. It is meant to symbolize the ignorance of sin and the hopelessness of a world without God. 

One candle enters the church giving a small glimmer of hope. And, finally, as we light our individual candles from the Easter candle, the whole church is flooded with light. Christ's resurrection has scattered the darkness of ignorance, of fear and of sin. We no longer have to grope around in the darkness not knowing where to find meaning or truth or love. 

There is now no doubt. In the light of His resurrection, we have found our meaning, our truth and our love in Christ.

 How do we tap into the power of Jesus' resurrection so that His new life can be real and active in our lives?

 It is already ours through our baptism. 

Our baptism seals us with the gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise of the gift of faith.

 Like most elements of our faith, baptism has its roots in the experience of the people of Israel. To escape slavery in Egypt, God parted the Red Sea for his People. And, after forty years in the desert, the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River to enter the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. The waters, then, came to symbolize the passage from enslavement to new life in the promised land. John the Baptist chose the Jordan River and the symbol of baptism as a means of preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. Jesus himself chose to undergo John's baptism and commanded his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

The faith, the new life and the power of Jesus' resurrection are ours 2000 years later because of baptism.

Most of us were babies when we were baptized. Our parents and godparents made a profession of faith on our behalf and committed themselves to raising us to know and love Jesus. 

But, at the Easter Vigil, we have an opportunity to renew the promises of our baptism. We reject sin and embrace the new life offered to us through faith in the resurrection of Jesus. We make our own the promises made for us at our baptism so that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ can be the driving force of our lives.