The tomb is empty, but the Lord is alive

Dear brothers and sisters, we have arrived at this day to celebrate the joy of the resurrection of Jesus, after a preparation that began on Ash Wednesday. We have walked a path of hope, turning our hearts toward the Lord with trust and placing our lives in Him. Arriving at the Easter Triduum, we immerse ourselves in the celebration of the mysteries of our redemption, accompanying Jesus and witnessing His redemptive work. Today we arrive at the heart of the mystery — not only of human redemption, but of creation and salvation themselves. For this reason, we have heard the readings that spanned from creation to the resurrection of Christ.1

We live in this liturgy the holy night of the resurrection of Our Lord. By rising, He elevates the very work of creation to a new condition. In His humanity, not only is the entire human race elevated, but every created being also participates in this work.2 If we refer to the first reading of the Old Testament of this liturgy,3 the new condition of the creature in the resurrection is the fulfillment of the created work itself. Creation and, as part of it, humanity itself are not the result of an experiment by the Creator. They have in themselves an end, which is participated in more fully by spiritual beings: to participate in the life of God Himself.4 The risen Jesus is the place of greatest depth for all humanity. From Him flows all life. And whoever approaches Him and remains in communion with Him is connected to the source of life.5

If we ask ourselves the question “what is life?”, the answer we find in the mystery we celebrate today is: “Jesus”.6 This illuminates the existence of every human person. We were created in love to reach the fullness of this same love, living in definitive communion with Him who is the source of all life. Throughout the history of salvation we experience the closeness of God. It is with His help that we reach our end. Creation, therefore, is not restricted to a point at the beginning of everything, but continues in history until the creature reaches its full maturity. When the creation of man happens, God engages His own hands along with His breath and His word.7 The Son is the hand of God modeling humanity, from creation to the resurrection.8

Dear catechumens, each of you has your history and your searches. Perhaps even your emptinesses. That is why you sought the Church, to take part in the work of Christ in her. Whatever the personal situations that brought you here, do not think it was just chance or a vague search to fill an existential void. Even the emptiness of the human heart speaks of God and points to Him. Even not knowing what it seeks, and lost amidst confusions, the human heart seeks the divine, for the emptiness it experiences is the absence of eternal goods.9 And even after becoming aware of this search and beginning to progress on the path of grace, it is common for a certain emptiness to continue. Why is this? With grace, shouldn't this emptiness have disappeared completely? We desire Him who is eternal, infinite, far above every created work. Therefore, from our smallness we do not encompass His immensity completely. But we can progress continually on the path of grace, going ever deeper into the mystery of God Himself.10 Do not be frightened if, with the knowledge of the mystery of God, your heart begins to desire God Himself even more. This path of absence and presence is full of hope. The tomb is empty, but the Lord is alive.

The women who went to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning were the same ones who were at the foot of the cross.11 They experienced the pain, the suffering, the incomprehension before such brutality of the cross, and now, with readiness, they go to the sepulcher to visit the dead Lord. That is, they trusted in God even in the face of adversities and persecutions, and now they continue to express their love for their Master. How great is their fright upon finding the empty tomb! However, they do not find only absence, but also presence. The absence of the body is divine pedagogy to tell them that what was dead now lives. The angel gives them this great consolation and communicates true joy to their hearts.12 We have all prepared ourselves to experience the joy of Easter. In our penances we feel so much absence, but now we can also pause before the presence. The risen Jesus Himself manifests Himself to them.13 He is present, alive. In this sense, both the emptiness and the presence lead to happiness. In penance we seek to master our own humanity, so as to distance ourselves from the works of sin; but the true meaning is in the mystery of the risen one. There was also an approach to the tomb of Jesus and an encounter with Him alive. The faith that today illuminates our gaze makes us perceive and contemplate the wonders that God accomplishes for us.

We are just beginning the Easter season with this liturgy. We must continue progressing in the mystery of the risen one. In a special way our catechumens, who, receiving today the gift of new life in Christ, will immerse themselves in the riches of His grace. You have not reached the end of a walk; on the contrary, you are at the beginning of one. Have faith and hope. In patience, take one step after another, trusting in Him who gave His life on the cross for you and rose from the dead for you.

The wonderful work accomplished in humanity happens in the power of God. It is a true work of sanctification. We find, in the action of the Holy Spirit in redeemed and sanctified humanity, the presence of the other hand of God that models man.14 Creation and salvation touch each other and are part of the loving action that springs from the heart of the Father.

Christ is truly risen,15 and therefore the new life we receive is also true. Not even our sins can defeat it. We can now bring to our memory the redemptive mystery that defeated sin in us. We rejoice because life has defeated death.16 Jesus has risen, as He said,17 and His grace dwells in our lives. Let us not allow ourselves to be disturbed by our limitations, failings, and sins, for the grace that is in us is truer than all of that.

Praised be Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Notes

Easter Vigil of year A. The readings span the history of salvation, from Genesis 1 to the prophets; the epistle is Romans 6:3-11 and the Gospel, Matthew 28:1-10 — which is the Gospel of the Vigil in year A, the same one the homily comments on.

The Easter Vigil spans, in its readings, the entire history of salvation: from creation (Gen 1:1—2:2) to the empty tomb (Mt 28:1-10, in year A). ↩

Rom 8:19-22: “the entire creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until the present”. ↩

Gen 1:1—2:2, the account of the seven days — the first of the readings of the Vigil. ↩

2 Pet 1:4: “so that you may become participants of the divine nature”. ↩

Jn 15:4-5 (“remain in me”) and Jn 4:14 (“a spring of water gushing up to eternal life”). ↩

Jn 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life”; and Jn 11:25. ↩

Gen 2:7: “the Lord God modeled man with the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life”. ↩

The image of the “two hands of the Father” — the Son and the Holy Spirit, by which God models man from the clay to the resurrection — is from Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, IV, 20, 1. ↩

The classic formulation of this emptiness is in Saint Augustine, Confessions I, 1: “you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”. ↩

The idea of an endless progress in the knowledge of God — the more one knows, the more one desires — has its classic formulation in Saint Gregory of Nyssa (Life of Moses); it is what the Greek tradition calls epéktasis. ↩

Mt 28:1; cf. Mt 27:55-56.61. ↩

Mt 28:5-7: “Do not be afraid… He is not here, for he has risen as he had said.” ↩

Mt 28:9-10: “And behold, Jesus came to meet them and said: Rejoice!” ↩

The other hand is the Holy Spirit — see note 8. ↩

Lk 24:34: “The Lord is truly risen.” And the Easter Sequence Victimae paschali laudes: “We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead.” ↩

Easter Sequence: “Death and life have contended in a wondrous duel; the King of life, who died, reigns alive.” ↩

Mt 28:6: “He has risen, as he had said.” ↩

Text revised for publication. The revision corrected agreement, syntax, punctuation, and repetitions, without altering the content of the preaching. The notes were added in this edition and were not part of the preached text: they indicate the passages cited or alluded to in the homily and, when the liturgy of the day is fixed, the proper readings of the celebration.