This is the night, very simply and gloriously, of our salvation.

That is, in the darkness of this night the dead man of Nazareth arose. Once dead, he is dead no more. And he will not die again. In that earlier dark night we felt the betrayal, the denial, and the tears of blood. Even the day darkened at the death of the innocent. Now, however, our darkness is dissolved by the brilliance of an angel, the new earthquake, and the new doctrine of our existence: “Do not be afraid!”[1] In the resurrection darkness is not dark, but the night is as bright as day.[2] That’s the revolution, the only revolution that ever was, that upending of everything.

Brothers and sisters, this is God’s great answer. This is his decision. You and I have been broken by sin and with our sins we have broken. We have murdered and been murdered. We have hated and been hated. We have hurt, and we have wept at the chaos of at it all. We have wondered with the Psalmist, “Has God’s love ceased forever?”[3] In our hurt and pain we have wondered about God, about his wisdom, his compassion, and even his existence. What has God to say for himself?

Here, this night, he gives answer. “For you, I’ve become flesh. I’ve become one of you,” he says to us. “For you, I live as you do, breathing, wondering, seeing and feeling. For you, I suffer: beatings, betrayals, denials and misunderstandings. For you, I died a horrible death, more horrible than most. I did this,” God seems to say, “but even in death, I am not done for you. For you, I rose again. The worst of your freedom, in my freedom I forgive. My mercy endures forever. My love will always remain.”

Friends, many of your come here, as I do, broken, compromised, confused, hurt, and attacked. Some of you are hated. Some of you are patronized, objectified, ignored, flattered, or reviled. Some of you live a good life, with joys too many to number. Some of you are filled with bounty. Some of you are poor. Some of you love and some of you hate. All of you, though, are loved by this God who rose from the dead. All of you are invited. All of you can rest your stories in his. All of you are called to be brothers and sisters of the Risen One. As Jesus rose victorious over his death, so too can all of you rise triumphant. Your life now is hid with Christ in God.[4]

So, here we are in this church swollen in light. The Alleluia is back!  Our song, which outlasts every other song of this world, is restored and renewed. We sing again with the Lord’s Mother! We sing with Magdalene! We delight with the angels now present even with us! We go now to the altar to receive the Body and the Blood, some of you for the very first time. We see the power of that gift now. Jesus, before his betrayal and death, gave us himself in the bread and the wine. We see now the beauty of it! We see now that in his self-offering he made his shame his glory. We see now also what this gift is for us. We see it now as the means for our glory. Come to this altar as you are. Offer yourself, offer your sins and excuses and confusion and pain. Offer these shameful things, and God will make them glorious. The grace of the Risen One will outlast even your resistance. “So God, for each soul saved, rings the eternal Easter bells./ And he says: I told you so,” wrote the poet Charles Péguy.[5] That is the victory, the salvation of this night. You didn’t do anything to win it; you just need to be smart of enough, humble enough, silent enough, loving enough to receive it, to be changed by this night.

Come, you saints of the Risen One, receive his risen Body, this eucharistic miracle.  Recognize him there. Like Augustine, I invite you: Look on the altar and “receive what you are.”[6] Receive the God who has become human. Receive the one who gives himself in these signs. Receive the Risen One. Become the Church. Become his Body. We shall all be saved if we do this, if we become a part of him. Be Christ in this world. Dare to live the life that is not trapped by the fear of death. Love like there’s no limit. Be patient like there’s no such thing as time. Praise like it’s your very life. See Christ. Heed him and heed his angels: “Do not be afraid.”[7] Friends, you can see him if you want.  Amen.

[1] Matthew 28:5

[2] Psalm 139:12

[3] Psalm 77:9

[4] Colossians 3:3

[5] Charles Péguy, The Portal of the Mystery of Hope

[6] Augustine, Sermon 272

[7] Matthew 28:10

© 2021 Rev. Joshua J. Whitfield