“Let all the pious and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay.” The renowned preacher Saint John Chrysostom spoke these words in fifth century Constantinople, calling all the faithful to join in the celebration of Easter. During these days the victory of Christ over sin and death is recalled and relived by millions of Christians throughout the world, filling us with great hope and joy.
Saint John Chrysostom stresses that the resurrection of Christ is an event for everyone to celebrate: the rich, the poor, the sober, the weakling, those who fasted, and those who did not. For those who prepared from the beginning, and those who started late, the table has been prepared with the fatted calf that has been slaughtered. “Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord.”
The mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is an event through which all creation has been redeemed. Creation is different because Jesus emerged from the tomb. By rising from the dead, Jesus has lifted up all sin and darkness into the light and love of God. We have reason to hope and to rejoice because the resurrection has destroyed our greatest enemy, which is death. Now we know that we too will rise from the dead because we have been united to Jesus through baptism.
The Exultet sung at the start of the Easter Vigil celebrates the magnificent night during which Jesus resurrected and the world was transformed. In this ancient hymn the Church proclaims, “O truly blessed night, worthy alone to know the time and hour when Christ rose from the underworld! The sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.”
This unique transcendent night that saw the stone rolled away from the tomb makes itself present at the Easter Vigil each year where we gather to remember and enter into the mystery of our faith. As the Paschal Candle enters the darkened church at the Vigil after being blessed outside and lit from the Easter fire, it is a symbol of Christ entering a world darkened by the heavy yoke of sin. Yet the Pascal Candle is not dimmed by the sharing of its light, but rather its light multiplies as the faithful light their own candles from it. Suddenly the darkness is overcome by light; Christ conquers the darkness as His presence extends throughout the church.
The light of Christ shines brightly during the Easter Season in the Church’s liturgy, yet the light of Christ ought to shine brightly in our everyday lives. In His resurrection Jesus has drawn everyone to God the Father as one people. Obeying the words of Saint John Chrysostom, these days we rejoice in the splendor of this feast having completed our Lenten observance. The Risen Lord will bless us with his powerful everlasting light, and guide us each into the blissful joy of eternal life.
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