Easter Vigil Homily (2026)

Easter Vigil
Genesis 1:1-2:2
Genesis 22:1-18
Exodus 14:15-15:1
Isaiah 55:1-11
Romans 6:3-11
Matthew 28:1-10

Thursday night we began the Easter Triduum with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.  It was at the Last Supper that Jesus gave us the Eucharist, his very own Body and Blood to feed our souls.  With the Eucharist as a sacrifice, Holy Thursday is also the Institution of the Priesthood.

Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a sacrifice.  At the Last Supper, He united the Eucharist to his Crucifixion when He said this is my Body which will be given up for you…this is the Blood of my chalice which will be poured out for you.  So, every time we celebrate the Eucharist according to Jesus’ command, “Do this in remembrance of me,” we are celebrating both a meal and a sacrifice.

 Tonight we take a step back to look at the story of Salvation History.

We began our Mass tonight outside as darkness falls.  We wait till darkness begins to fall to remind us of how, “in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss.”

God began creation by bringing light to the darkness.  As He continued creation, He brought his divine order to the formless wasteland. 

What we read in the creation stories in the Book of Genesis is not meant to provide a scientific explanation of how creation happened.  The people would not have been able to even begin to grasp the science.  What the creation stories do show is how God brought order to creation.

Science talks about the Big Bang.  The Big Bang Theory does explain a lot about how the universe came to be as we know it today but there are three things the Big Bang Theory does not provide.

First, what caused the Big Bang to happen?

God did!

Second, the Big Bang Theory does not explain the particular way the Big Bang led to the universe turning out the way it has rather than any other way.  This is where God established his divine order.

The third thing Big Bang cannot answer and is not meant to answer is, “what is the meaning of the universe?”  Science answers questions of how.  God answers questions of meaning.

In his divine order, God created the vegetation, the fish, the birds, and all the creatures of the land, and humanity to establish an ecosystem that is meant to work in harmony.

It is God’s divine orderthat puts humanity at the pinnacle of creation as He created us in his image.  It is God who gave humanity dominion over the rest of creation.

What has humanity done with the dominion God has given us?

Some people overconsume and fail to respect the balance in nature.  Some people become greedy.  Some people cause war. 

Greed, overconsumption, and war are not what God intends.  In fact, greed and the envy and anger that can lead us to war are among The Seven Deadly Sins that separate us from God. 

We need to understand what God has given us as gifts from the food we eat to the Eucharistic Sacrifice we celebrate.  If we understand and appreciate what God gives us as gifts, they will transform us and in turn we help transform the world in accord with God’s Will (remember the words from the Lord’s Prayer…thy kingdom come, thy will be done).

Tonight we hear six readings from the Bible and the singing of the Exsultet.  We need to look at these in the context of everything that is in Bible and part of the story of our salvation.

God did not create and walk away.  God has always been involved in the lives of his children even when his children abandoned him.  God never abandons his children.

Our second reading is the story of the near sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham.  Their obedience to God’s command showed their great faith.  Their obedience prefigures Jesus’ obedience when He gave his life for us on the Cross.

Isaac carrying “the wood for the holocaust” on his shoulders prefigures the day when Jesus would carry the wooden cross on his shoulders upon which He is sacrificed for our sins.

As Abraham tied up his son Isaac for the sacrifice, so will God our Father tie his Son to the Cross as the Sacrifice for our sins.

Abraham spoke prophetically when he answered Isaac’s question where is the sheep for the holocaust when he said, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” 

God stopped Abraham before he completed sacrificing Isaac but God did not stop when it came time for his Son Jesus to be sacrificed for our sins on the Cross.

Because Abraham did not hold back his son Isaac from God that day, God blessed him abundantly.

Is there something you hold back from God?  Is there some part of your life that you like the way it is and do not to change to conform to God’s Will?

When will you surrender it to God?

When you give everything to God, He will bless you abundantly.

Just as God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God will rescue us from our sins when we hand them over to him.  God parted the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites as he parts the waters of Baptism so that we might receive new life.

God invites “All you who are thirsty, come to the water.”  He offers us life with him without cost, if we accept the gift of life with him.

We need to stop following worldly ways in pursuit of earthly power and wealth that “fails to satisfy” in favor of following Jesus. 

We need to die to the things of this world through Baptism to rise to eternal life.

In a few minutes, we will baptize James in the waters of Baptism made holy by Jesus in his Baptism.

After James is baptized, we will all have an opportunity to renew our baptismal promises.  Will you answer in the positive?  Are you holding anything back?

Then, we will receive Betty, Rob, Brett, and Jolene into our Catholic Church and then confirm all five before they receive their First Eucharist.

Do you remember your Baptism?

Do you remember your Confirmation?

Do you remember your First Eucharist?

Are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus so that He can raise you to new life?