Introduction
Easter Vigil is the pinnacle of the Sacred Triduum, which began on Holy Thursday evening. These three days — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil — form one continuous liturgy, drawing us deeply into the Paschal Mystery: the passion, death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Easter Vigil begins after nightfall, symbolizing the world in darkness, awaiting the light of Christ. It commences with the lighting of the Paschal Candle and the proclamation of the Exsultet, which announces the triumph of light over darkness and life over death.
One of the most distinctive elements of tonight’s liturgy is the extended Liturgy of the Word. Because this is a vigil, a time of watchful waiting, the Church invites us to linger with the Scriptures. We hear multiple readings, up to nine in total: seven from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament (the Epistle and the Gospel). This tradition is ancient, dating back to the early centuries of Christianity, when believers would gather through the night to hear the great sweep of salvation history retold — from creation, to the covenant with Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the voices of the prophets, and finally the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the resurrection of Christ.
These readings are not merely a history lesson; they are our story, too. As we listen and keep vigil together, we are invited to remember, to hope, and to enter once more into the new life Christ offers.
As mentioned, there are seven Old Testament readings in the lectionary for Easter Vigil, although this number may be reduced for pastoral reasons to as few as two. Regardless of how many readings are proclaimed, the third reading (from Exodus 14, recounting the Israelites’ passage through the Red Sea) must always be included.
Each reading is followed by a responsorial psalm and a prayer, allowing the assembly to reflect deeply on the unfolding story of salvation.
1st Reading – Genesis 1:1-2:2
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Thus evening came, and morning followed—the first day.
Then God said,
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome “the sky.”
Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.
Then God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear.”
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land “the earth,”
and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.”
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.
Then God said:
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth.”
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.
Then God said,
“Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.”
And so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
“Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.”
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
God created man in his image;
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God also said:
“See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food.”
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished
with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
The story of our relationship with God begins with creation. The One who created light from darkness and life from chaos is the same God who brings new life through Christ’s resurrection.
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
The first words of Scripture affirm that God, eternal and uncreated, freely brought all things into existence from nothing. “The heavens and the earth” is a Hebrew expression meaning the entirety of creation.
In the Old Testament, the verb bārā’, the Hebrew verb for “create,” appears only with God as its subject and specifically refers to divine creation. This is distinct from other Hebrew verbs like ʿāśâ (to make or do), which humans can also perform.
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Before creation, there was no shape to anything, and everything was empty.
The “mighty wind” (ruah, also translated as “spirit”) signifies God’s Spirit, present and active from the beginning. Many Church Fathers (e.g., Jerome, Athanasius) saw here a glimpse of the Holy Spirit’s role in creation.v
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God creates by his Word alone: he speaks, and creation happens.
This affirms that creation is not the result of chance or necessity but the free expression of divine love and will.
“[Creation] is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind fate or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God’s free will; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, wisdom, and goodness (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 295).
God saw how good the light was.
We see for the first time a phrase that will be used seven times throughout the creation story: God saw that it was good.
Everything God creates is good, a reflection of his own goodness.
God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Thus evening came, and morning followed—the first day.
On Day 1, God creates time itself: day and night.
Not only did God create all things, he also separated and ordered the elements of creation.
Then God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other.” And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome “the sky.” Evening came, and morning followed — the second day.
On Day 2, God creates the sky and water.
Each act of creation begins with “Then God said” and ends with “Evening came, and morning followed…” This emphasizes rhythm, intentionality, and sequence.
Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear.” And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land “the earth,” and the basin of the water he called “the sea.” God saw how good it was.
By the third day, God formed the basic realms: sky, sea, and land.
The ancients believed rain came from heavenly storehouses; Scripture corrects this by attributing all natural order to God’s design, including rainfall.
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.” And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.
God commands the earth to bring forth vegetation, demonstrating that his sovereign authority extends to the fertility of the earth.
Then God said: “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.” And so it happened: God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.
On Day Four, God creates celestial bodies to mark time and illuminate the earth. This corresponds with the light created on Day 1. This parallelism runs throughout the account: Days 1-3 form the realms; Days 4-6 populate them. The very structure of the narrative speaks to the order, rhythm, interdependence, and care with which God creates.
Ancient pagan myths viewed all celestial objects (the sun, moon, stars, etc.) as individual deities. Here, the sky is part of God’s creation, subject to his will. There is only one God, and he is in absolute authority.
Then God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.” And so it happened: God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.” Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.
On Day 5, God fills the waters and sky with life. His creative power is effortless: he speaks, and it is so.
God blesses these creatures, marking the first divine blessing in Scripture — fertility and abundance are part of God’s plan.
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.” And so it happened: God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was.
On Day 6, God creates land animals, corresponding with the dry land and vegetation created on Day 3.
Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.” God created man in his image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God pauses to reflect before his final creative act: the creation of mankind.
Unlike any other creature, humans are made in God’s image. This likeness is not a physical one, for God has no body. It is a spiritual likeness: intellect, will, freedom, and capacity for relationship and love. Both male and female share equally in this dignity.
God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.
With the creation of man and woman, God’s work reaches its culmination. Only now is creation called “very good.”
Note that man and woman are entrusted with managing the rest of creation as caretakers (“subdue”, “have dominion”).
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
At the end of this second set of three days, God has filled the realms he created — another round of completion.
Everything is perfectly arranged; the world of Creation invites us to contemplate the Creator.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
On Day 7, God “creates” rest and sanctification. God rests, not from weariness, but to bless and consecrate time itself.
Seven, the number of covenant and perfection, marks the fullness of creation. The world is no longer formless or empty; it is ordered, filled, and blessed.
Resting on the seventh day establishes the pattern of Sabbath rest — an invitation to humanity to enter into God’s rhythm of work and worship (CCC 2172).
The Genesis account of creation is not a scientific manual but a theological proclamation: one God, not many; creation is good, not evil; humanity has unique dignity and vocation; and all things find meaning in their relationship to the Creator.
This reading invites us to wonder, worship, and take our rightful place in God’s ordered, good, and holy creation.
2nd Reading – Genesis 22:1-18
God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said:
“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you.”
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust,
set out for the place of which God had told him.
On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants:
“Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you.”
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust
and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
“Father!” Isaac said.
“Yes, son,” he replied.
Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the holocaust?”
“Son,” Abraham answered,
“God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.”
Then the two continued going forward.
When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
“Here I am!” he answered.
“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger.
“Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, “On the mountain the LORD will see.”
Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
“I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing —
all this because you obeyed my command.”
In our second reading, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for the love of God foreshadows God’s gift of his own Son, Jesus, who brings the promise of blessing to all nations.
God put Abraham to the test.
We are told from the outset that this is a test, an occasion to prove the quality of the man through some form of adversity (cf. James 1:2-3).
He called to him, “Abraham!”
Abraham, whose name means “father of a multitude” (cf. Gen 17:5), is summoned by God. His identity, rooted in the promise of countless descendants, is precisely what will be tested.
“Here I am!” he replied.
Abraham’s response reveals his readiness and full availability to God. It echoes the posture of a faithful servant.
Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
Isaac is the child of God’s promise of descendants to Abraham, whom Abraham’s wife, Sarah, miraculously bore after a lifetime of being barren and when she was past childbearing age.
Abraham will be asked to offer not only his beloved child, but the embodiment of God’s covenantal promise.
and go to the land of Moriah.
Moriah was a three-day journey away. This would give Abraham plenty of time to consider the command he is about to be given and the opportunity to do it deliberately.
Interestingly, in 2 Chronicles 3:1, Moriah is identified as the mountain in Jerusalem where Solomon built the temple, to stress the holiness of that site.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.”
A holocaust was a sacrifice in which the entire animal is consumed by fire as an offering to God. This was distinct from other types of sacrifices in which only part of the animal was burned and the rest eaten.
Abraham is instructed not just to surrender Isaac, but to do so with the reverence, sedateness, and composure of mind that accompany ritual sacrifices.
In Abraham’s time, child sacrifice was tragically common among pagan cultures. In many ways, this story is about Abraham realizing that the God with whom he had entered a covenant relationship did not desire child sacrifice. This will later be codified in Mosaic Law: firstborn sons are to be redeemed, not sacrificed (cf. Exodus 13:11-15).
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him his son Isaac and two of his servants as well, and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him.
Abraham responds with swift, unquestioning obedience, which reflects his trust in God’s character, even when he cannot understand God’s plan.
On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Moriah was a three-day journey away, which gave Abraham time to grapple with this perplexing and gut-wrenching command.
Then he said to his servants: “Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you.” Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
Isaac is not a small boy, but a strong young man. Like Jesus, he carries the wood of his own sacrifice.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham: “Father!” Isaac said. “Yes, son,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?” “Son,” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” Then the two continued going forward.
Abraham is not trying to trick Isaac; rather, he truly has handed everything over to God.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Note that there is no mention of any struggle on Isaac’s part. This may suggest his willing participation, mirroring Christ’s self-offering (cf. John 10:17-18). The silence of the text invites reflection rather than speculation.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
The economy of words and the absence of emotion in such a horrific scene are startling.
However, the point of the story is not the death of Isaac — as such, the author moves quickly past the description of the preparation for the killing, which, both author and reader know, will not take place.
The focus is on the intention of Abraham’s heart.
But the LORD’S messenger called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger. “Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”
This was a test, and Abraham has passed by his flawless obedience. His sincere intention to do what God asked of him is as good as if he had actually done the deed.
God never desired Isaac’s death; he desired Abraham’s unwavering trust.
As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
In later times, the ram was the usual victim for a holocaust offering (Leviticus 1:10-13).
Hebrew legend says that Abraham freed the ram by cutting off one of its horns, and this became the first shofar (the trumpet used to call the people to prayer and to war).
So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.
The alacrity with which Abraham obediently responds to the first command is coupled with piety that is demonstrated here, in the decision to offer a ram as a sacrifice in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh; hence people now say, “On the mountain the LORD will see.”
Yahweh-yireh means “God will provide.” The reference to “the LORD will see” means that the Lord will see to it, will provide.
Again the LORD’S messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: “I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
God makes another covenant with Abraham by swearing an oath, a covenant that is sealed with the sacrifice of the ram. Since there is no one higher, he must swear by himself.
that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing – all this because you obeyed my command.”
The language of blessing is extravagant (stars, sand, nations) because Abraham held nothing back.
In relinquishing his claim on Isaac, the child of promise, Abraham has gained the blessing of a promise of more children than he can count. God will not be outdone in generosity.
3rd Reading – Exodus 14:15-15:1
The LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?
Tell the Israelites to go forward.
And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea,
split the sea in two,
that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land.
But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate
that they will go in after them.
Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army,
his chariots and charioteers.
The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,
when I receive glory through Pharaoh
and his chariots and charioteers.”
The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s camp,
now moved and went around behind them.
The column of cloud also, leaving the front,
took up its place behind them,
so that it came between the camp of the Egyptians
and that of Israel.
But the cloud now became dark, and thus the night passed
without the rival camps coming any closer together
all night long.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and the LORD swept the sea
with a strong east wind throughout the night
and so turned it into dry land.
When the water was thus divided,
the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them
right into the midst of the sea.
In the night watch just before dawn
the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud
upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
and he so clogged their chariot wheels
that they could hardly drive.
With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,
because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.
Then the LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea,
that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots and their charioteers.”
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,
when the LORD hurled them into its midst.
As the water flowed back,
it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole army
which had followed the Israelites into the sea.
Not a single one of them escaped.
But the Israelites had marched on dry land
through the midst of the sea,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day
from the power of the Egyptians.
When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore
and beheld the great power that the LORD
had shown against the Egyptians,
they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.
This reading from Exodus is the most important of the Old Testament readings for the Easter Vigil. It describes the parting of the sea that enabled the chosen people to escape from slavery in Egypt and return to the promised land (circa 1250 BC).
By the second century, Christian tradition had paired Jesus’ passage through death to risen glory with Israel’s passage through the waters of the Red Sea from slavery to freedom.
The LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
The Israelites have fled Egypt and are being pursued by Pharaoh and his army. As the Egyptians draw near, the Israelites are paralyzed by fear and cry out to God.
God responds not with comfort, but with a command: Move forward. Fear cannot be allowed to halt obedience.
And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea, split the sea in two, that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land.
God gives Moses explicit instructions, confirming his authority as the chosen leader. The miracle is God’s, but Moses must act in faith.
But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate that they will go in after them. Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and charioteers. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I receive glory through Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers.”
In Scripture, Pharaoh represents human pride and false divinity, therefore, God’s triumph here is a victory over idolatry. When Pharaoh is struck down by the God of Israel, the Egyptians “shall know that I am the LORD.”
The military language and the depiction of God as a warrior are bold anthropomorphisms, emphasizing that God is omnipotent and fully capable of rescuing His people from any threat.
The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s camp, now moved and went around behind them.
The “angel of God” is a visible expression of God’s presence: a theophany. God, who led them, now protects them from behind. This shift reveals his intimate involvement in both guidance and defense.
The column of cloud also, leaving the front, took up its place behind them, so that it came between the camp of the Egyptians and that of Israel. But the cloud now became dark, and thus the night passed without the rival camps coming any closer together all night long.
God is also present in the form of a cloud. As the Israelites fled, God led them by way of this manifestation, a column of cloud with fire in the center and surrounded by smoke. This created light for the Israelites and darkness for their enemies — a divine barrier.
Together, the angel and the cloud serve as a buffer between the fleeing Israelites and the pursuing Egyptians.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land. When the water was thus divided, the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
To the ancients, the waters of the sea represented chaos. As in the story of creation, God shows his absolute dominion over the chaos by subduing it and conforming it to his will.
The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea.
The Egyptians also represent a form of chaos, albeit a political one.
In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.
God’s “glance” is not vengeful but just. The Egyptians, agents of oppression, are undone by the very path they presumed to control. The disarray of their chariots points to a divine reversal—those who wield power unjustly are brought low.
Then the LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea, when the LORD hurled them into its midst. As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole army which had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not a single one of them escaped. But the Israelites had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
In the ancient world, being cast into the sea would have been a terrifying fate, and the fact that the Israelites marched through it “on dry land” would have been a display of God’s power and favor beyond comprehension.
This is not arbitrary wrath but righteous judgment. God defends his people against those who threaten their salvation.
Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that the LORD had shown against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
This is the heart of the passage: salvation. Seeing God’s power firsthand, the Israelites are moved to fear (reverence) and belief. It is a turning point in their relationship with God and with Moses.
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.
The Song of the Sea is a hymn of praise, not gloating over Egypt’s downfall, but exalting God’s triumph over evil and chaos.
The Exodus is the definitive Old Testament image of God’s saving action. For Israel, it becomes the lens through which all future acts of divine deliverance are understood. For Christians, it foreshadows baptism and the Paschal Mystery: God leads his people through death into life. His power is not arbitrary but purposeful — always directed toward salvation, justice, and covenant fidelity.
Who could doubt such a God, who parts seas, conquers chaos, and walks with his people?
4th Reading – Isaiah 54:5-14
The One who has become your husband is your Maker;
his name is the LORD of hosts;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
The LORD calls you back,
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
a wife married in youth and then cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
but with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.
This is for me like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
should never again deluge the earth;
so I have sworn not to be angry with you,
or to rebuke you.
Though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be shaken,
my love shall never leave you
nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,
I lay your pavements in carnelians,
and your foundations in sapphires;
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
In justice shall you be established,
far from the fear of oppression,
where destruction cannot come near you.
The remaining four Old Testament readings tonight come from the prophets. Each one speaks to God’s unwavering faithfulness, his mercy in the face of human sin, and the promise of salvation and new life—pointing ultimately to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the fourth reading, the prophet Isaiah offers a message of hope to the Israelites during their exile in Babylon (587–537 BC), assuring them that God’s covenant endures and that restoration is near.
Tonight, this reading offers us the same hope: that God invites us to a life of abundance, joy, and renewal — freely offered through Christ’s victory over death.
The One who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the LORD of hosts;
Isaiah presents the covenant between God and Israel through the intimate metaphor of marriage.
God is not a distant deity, but a loving spouse, deeply invested in the well-being of his people.
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth.
Note the various titles that are employed for God, the husband: Maker, Lord of Hosts, redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, God of all the earth.
The Hebrew word used here for “redeemer” is goel, one who frees another from slavery and avenges their sufferings.
The LORD calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, a wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back.
God’s wrath and reconciliation are expressed in terms of a marital separation followed by restoration. Israel, though unfaithful, is not abandoned. God’s justice is real, but so is his mercy.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; but with enduring love I take pity on you, says the LORD, your redeemer.
God addresses his unfaithful spouse with tenderness and forgiveness.
Expanding the use of metaphorical family relationships to motherly love, the word for “pity” comes from the word ráham (womb), and might be translated as “womb-love.” It refers to a deep and loving attachment, usually between two people who share some kind of natural bond — a phenomenal suggestion for the relationship between an almighty God and a sinful people.
The word for “enduring love” is hesed, which denotes loyalty to covenant obligations. God is faithful to the covenant, even when his people are not.
This is for me like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should never again deluge the earth; so I have sworn not to be angry with you, or to rebuke you.
This recalls God’s promise after the flood in Genesis 9. Just as he swore never again to destroy the earth, so now he swears never again to abandon his people.
Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, my love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
God’s love is more enduring than the earth itself. His covenant of peace remains unshaken, grounded in mercy and steadfast love.
O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled, I lay your pavements in carnelians, and your foundations in sapphires; I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of precious stones.
God will rebuild Jerusalem with dazzling beauty. The precious stones symbolize not material wealth but the radiance of divine forgiveness and restored glory. This imagery prefigures the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21.
All your sons shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. In justice shall you be established, far from the fear of oppression, where destruction cannot come near you.
God promises that he himself will attend to the education and protection of future generations.
These promises were extremely precious to the Israelites in their exile, assuring them that God’s love would not only endure through their suffering, as it had in the past, but also that he would restore them to a former glory.
Even more, he would elevate them to a prosperity far greater than anything they had previously known.
5th Reading – Isaiah 55:1-11
Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread,
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
As I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of nations,
so shall you summon a nation you knew not,
and nations that knew you not shall run to you,
because of the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.
Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked man his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.
For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
In our fifth reading, the prophet Isaiah continues to speak to the exiled Israelites with some of the most moving sentiments expressed by God to his people. In their time of displacement and longing, God promises not only physical restoration but a deeper, spiritual renewal — a covenant of everlasting love and purpose.
This passage echoes God’s invitation to each of us to freely receive the living water of grace, to be nourished by his Word, and to enter into the fullness of life offered through the death and Resurrection of Christ.
Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!
God is cast in the role of a vendor who offers food and drink at no cost.
The generosity of God is seen in the offer of water, grain, wine, and milk. While water is essential to all, it is particularly important in the climate of Mediterranean Palestine. Grain, wine, and milk are staples of the Near Eastern diet and imply abundant harvests and healthy flocks.
This is no ordinary invitation but an invitation to the covenant banquet, reminiscent of that celebrated by Moses at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:5, 11). These words come true in the complete sense in the words spoken by Christ when he instituted the Eucharist: “take and eat” the true bread of life, the very finest food, which money cannot buy.
Note that the invitation is extended to “all you who are thirsty”; not only those who had been faithful throughout their exile in Babylon, or those who had found a way to make a living while in exile. The only condition is a thirst for God.
Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Though water, grain, wine, milk, and bread are all good things to eat, Isaiah speaks of satisfying the deepest longings of the human heart: longings for loving relationships.
What God has to offer is satisfying and enduring, especially when compared to all else for which people seem to spend their money.
Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.
God knows that the people are suffering. However, they are thirsty for more than water. They are hungry for more than food. They are hungry for a right relationship with their God.
Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life.
Isaiah assures the people that God has not rejected them. Rather, God is calling them to fidelity: “heed me,” “come to me,” “listen.”
The prophet is referring to more than ordinary food and drink, because the word used for “listen” is shema. This is the same verb that introduces Israel’s most important prayer, which is known by the same word: Shema!, or Hear, O Israel! The word suggests not only hearing but also heeding the words that are heard.
The implication is that the word of God is itself a source of nourishment and rejuvenation. It is, in fact, the source of life itself.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.
The real point of God’s invitation is this announcement. He is renewing their covenant bond, hearkening back to his royal covenant with David (see 2 Samuel 7:12-16).
God’s covenant with David was a unilateral one, a free gift from God with no requirements placed on the human partner. However, that covenantal privilege did not exempt the kings from observing the Law, which was previously established with the Mosaic covenant.
Though this Davidic covenant was instituted as everlasting, the people broke the bond by their sins. God is now eager to restore this severed bond.
This can be read by Christians as an invitation to share in the new and eternal Covenant sealed with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, a pledge of salvation for all mankind.
As I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of nations, so shall you summon a nation you knew not, and nations that knew you not shall run to you, because of the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.
Just as David’s success proclaimed God’s majesty to the nations, so the people called here will be a witness to God’s mercy and love.
And just as David was the source of blessing, peace, and fullness of life for his own nation, the people called here will be a comparable source of blessing for nations they do not even know.
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near.
The prophet begins a call to conversion. Israel must turn to God with urgent prayer in order to enjoy these promised blessings. Man must seek God, and yet God’s ways are far beyond comprehension.
This passage combines the mysterious opposites of divine grace: God is transcendent, yet near enough to help; man is helpless, yet required to act energetically; the ways of God are exalted yet required of man (see also Hosea 14:10; Job 42:1-6; Sirach 43:28-35; Acts 13:10).
Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts;
Isaiah describes a pattern of sin, not merely isolated offenses. The people have embarked on a “way” (derek) of life that has taken them away from the God with whom they have entered into covenant. This is nothing short of total betrayal.
The word employed here for sinfulness usually refers to external behavior, but here it is coupled with the word for “thoughts” or “plans” (mahăshābâ). The sinners have not only chosen a course of action opposed to the laws of God, but they have devised plans contrary to God’s plans.
Let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
The word for “turn” (shûb), in all its forms, is the twelfth most frequently used verb in the Old Testament. It means to turn away from evil and toward good, implying that those who have sinned were once in relationship with God but have turned away.
The exhortations to turn back are not merely suggestions; the verb-forms indicate they are imperatives. The people are being summoned to worship and repentance.
In the face of this, the prophet assures them God will still be compassionate (rāham) toward them. He can promise this because he firmly believes that God does not merely forgive once. Rather, God is gracious in forgiving, pardoning sinners again and again.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.
The generosity and mercy of God are almost beyond our comprehension. God calls humanity to seek him and allows himself to be found. Not only that, he is willing and able to abundantly pardon, for he does not judge in the way men do.
Accordingly, the difference between the thoughts and plans of God and those of man is compared with the vast expanse between the heavens and the earth. Of course, the comparison is ludicrous, for there is no comparison. The difference between the disposition of sinful humanity and the disposition of God is incalculable.
For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
The passage ends with God assuring the people of the power of his word, using an analogy that would have been particularly meaningful to those who live in the arid countries of the East.
With this analogy, Isaiah provides a glimpse of what ecologists today call the hydrologic cycle — continuous movement of water between the earth and the atmosphere. His knowledge of this cycle comes from observing nature itself, the primary source of wisdom. Rain and snow originate in the heavens; they water the earth, making it fertile and then they return to the heavens, having accomplished their purpose.
The ordered nature of God’s creation is reliable, an order we can trust. Contrary to our human arrogance, we are totally dependent on the fertility of the natural world and the laws that govern it.
Speaking through the prophet, God declares: So it is with my word! A cause-and-effect relationship exists between the word of God and the outcome it accomplishes; the word of God is consistent and reliable, and humans are totally dependent on it. We are assured that we can be as confident of this as we can be of the working of the natural world. Just as nature produces miracles upon which we can rely and because of which we can survive, so the word of God will effect miracles upon which we can rely and because of which we can live.
6th Reading – Baruch 3:9-15,32-4:4
Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:
listen, and know prudence!
How is it, Israel,
that you are in the land of your foes,
grown old in a foreign land,
defiled with the dead,
accounted with those destined for the netherworld?
You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!
Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have dwelt in enduring peace.
Learn where prudence is,
where strength, where understanding;
that you may know also
where are length of days, and life,
where light of the eyes, and peace.
Who has found the place of wisdom,
who has entered into her treasuries?
The One who knows all things knows her;
he has probed her by his knowledge—
The One who established the earth for all time,
and filled it with four-footed beasts;
he who dismisses the light, and it departs,
calls it, and it obeys him trembling;
before whom the stars at their posts
shine and rejoice;
when he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!”
shining with joy for their Maker.
Such is our God;
no other is to be compared to him:
He has traced out the whole way of understanding,
and has given her to Jacob, his servant,
to Israel, his beloved son.
Since then she has appeared on earth,
and moved among people.
She is the book of the precepts of God,
the law that endures forever;
all who cling to her will live,
but those will die who forsake her.
Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:
walk by her light toward splendor.
Give not your glory to another,
your privileges to an alien race.
Blessed are we, O Israel;
for what pleases God is known to us!
In our sixth reading, the prophet Baruch calls the people of Israel to remember the source of true wisdom — not found in power or riches, but in the law and presence of God.
Tonight, this reading invites us to recognize Christ as the fulfillment of that wisdom.
Hear, O Israel,
The passage begins with the traditional summons: “Hear, O Israel!”
the commandments of life:
God’s commandments give life (i.e., prosperity of every kind) when they are observed (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).
listen, and know prudence!
Those who abide by this message will also receive blessings of prudence.
How is it, Israel, that you are in the land of your foes, grown old in a foreign land,
Why was Israel deported to a foreign land?
defiled with the dead, accounted with those destined for the nether world?
Because they did not know and observe the law, pagans were considered by Jews to be all but dead and ready to depart to the netherworld. According to Jewish law, contact with a corpse defiled a person (Numbers 19:11-16).
You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom! Had you walked in the way of God, you would have dwelt in enduring peace.
The prophet answers his own question. Israel was in exile because the people had turned from God, the fountain who gives wisdom (Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:13-14).
Learn where prudence is, where strength, where understanding; that you may know also where are length of days, and life, where light of the eyes, and peace. Who has found the place of wisdom, who has entered into her treasuries?
The mysterious female figure that appears in these verses is more than a wise woman; she is Wisdom itself.
Wisdom is described with terms that show how multi-faceted it is: it is “strength,” it is “understanding,” it gives “length of days, and life” and “light of the eyes, and peace.”
The One who knows all things knows her; he has probed her by his knowledge—
This representation of Wisdom should not be considered a mere figure of speech. While many scriptural passages maintain that a chief characteristic of God is divine wisdom, the image found here suggests more. Woman Wisdom appears to enjoy an existence intimately associated with, yet clearly distinct from, God.
The One who established the earth for all time, and filled it with four-footed beasts; he who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling; before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice; when he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!” shining with joy for their Maker. Such is our God; no other is to be compared to him!
To avoid any danger of polytheism and pantheism that might result from the notion that Wisdom is something divine, Baruch reasserts his belief in the one God, and his notion of creation.
The Creator must not be confused with his works: light and the stars (cf. Job 9:9, 38:35).
He has traced out all the way of understanding, and has given her to Jacob, his servant, to Israel, his beloved son.
The Lord revealed his Wisdom in the Law and gave it to Israel.
Since then she has appeared on earth, and moved among men.
Note the universalism here. Wisdom is a gift from God to the patriarchs and the people of Israel; however, it belongs not only to Israel but lives among men.
Several Church Fathers and scriptural commentators see in this verse a glimpse of the Incarnation:
“This is his Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, who in the last days became a man among men, to unite the beginning and the end, that is, man and God. Thus the prophets, who received the gift of prophecy from God, foretold his coming in the flesh; and his coming has intensified the communion and union of God and man, in accordance with the will of the Father. The word of God said long ago that he would appear upon earth and live among men (Baruch 3:37), that he would speak with them, and talk to them about the work he would do to save them and gather them into himself” (Saint Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4,20).
She is the book of the precepts of God, the law that endures forever; all who cling to her will live, but those will die who forsake her. Turn, O Jacob, and receive her: walk by her light toward splendor.
As the book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) in particular makes clear (Sirach 19:20-28, 24:1-7, etc.), Wisdom is not just an endowment from God to the people; it is in fact the Law of Moses.
Ultimately, the way of Wisdom is conformity to the Law, and conformity to the Law is the way to life.
Give not your glory to another, your privileges to an alien race.
The exiles are encouraged to remain faithful to God despite the fact that they live in another culture.
Blessed are we, O Israel; for what pleases God is known to us!
There is no greater gift than the gift of revelation. Through God’s gracious act, we have been taught what the Lord would have us do.
7th Reading – Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land,
they defiled it by their conduct and deeds.
Therefore I poured out my fury upon them
because of the blood that they poured out on the ground,
and because they defiled it with idols.
I scattered them among the nations,
dispersing them over foreign lands;
according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.
But when they came among the nations wherever they came,
they served to profane my holy name,
because it was said of them: “These are the people of the LORD,
yet they had to leave their land.”
So I have relented because of my holy name
which the house of Israel profaned
among the nations where they came.
Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD:
Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel,
but for the sake of my holy name,
which you profaned among the nations to which you came.
I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
In the seventh and final prophetic reading, Ezekiel shares God’s promise to gather his people from exile, cleanse them from sin, and give them new hearts and new spirits. It is a vision of radical renewal.
Ezekiel’s words find their ultimate fulfillment in the waters of Baptism. Just as God promised to sprinkle clean water upon his people, we are made new in Christ — washed clean, given new hearts, and filled with the Holy Spirit to live as his people.
The word of the LORD came to me, saying: Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their conduct and deeds. Therefore I poured out my fury upon them because of the blood that they poured out on the ground, and because they defiled it with idols. I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them over foreign lands; according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.
The people’s sins defiled the promised land, the most precious of all the gifts God had given them.
As Ezekiel explains it, their exile was a necessary part of Israel’s restoration and purification, but it is also a condition for restoring to the land its lost honor.
But when they came among the nations wherever they came, they served to profane my holy name, because it was said of them: “These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave their land.”
When the pagan nations saw the Israelites being deported, they thought that the God of Israel had been defeated or, at least, that he had failed to protect his people. In this sense the exile caused the name of the Lord to be profaned among the nations. For what respect can be given to a God who cannot even protect his own people on his own land?
So I have relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they came.
The people have forgotten the covenant (see Romans 2:22), but God acts to prevent the ridicule of his name by giving them another chance. The argument is similar to the episodes of Moses with God in Numbers 14:13-19 and Exodus 32:10-11.
Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you came. I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it. Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
The renown of God’s holy name among the nations is clearly an important theme in this reading. This “theology” of the name of God carries over into the New Testament, where we find it as a petition in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9, Luke 11:2).
“Many people judge the truth of religion and its Author by the deeds and lives of Christians. Those who truly profess their faith and put it into practice in their lives carry out the most valuable apostolate, provoking in others the desire to glorify the name of the heavenly Father” (Roman Catechism, 4, 10, 9).
For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land.
God decides to re-create the nation and restore them to the promised land. This is a necessary part of their deliverance, but it is done in a way that also vindicates the name of the Lord. God’s name will be synonymous with mercy and compassion.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
Ezekiel views the renewal of Israel from the perspective of divine worship. God washes them in a ritual cleansing, representing the inner change that is taking place.
Note that God cleanses man, man cannot cleanse himself: this is a foreshadowing of baptism.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.
Next, God takes away their hard hearts and gives them tender hearts, and gives them a new spirit which is God’s own spirit. This renewal will give them a pure disposition (heart) and pure motivation (spirit); as a result, they will be completely transformed and enabled to live lives of integrity.
You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Having brought them back from exile, forgiven them, and filled them with his spirit, God echoes the covenant formula found in Exodus 6:7; Jeremiah 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 31:33; Ezekiel 14:11; 37:23, 27; Hosea 2:23; Zechariah 8:8; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 8:10; and Revelation 21:3:
“I will be your father and you will be my children.”
8th Reading – Romans 6:3-11
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.
In our epistle reading, Paul explains how baptism has enabled Christians to participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
The Christians in Rome, instructed in the apostolic teachings, should be acquainted with the effects of baptism. The rite of Christian initiation introduces a human being into union with Christ’s suffering and dying. Paul is emphasizing that the Christian is not merely identified with the “dying Christ” who has won victory over sin, but is introduced into the very act by which that victory has been won. Therefore the Christian is “dead to sin” and associated with Christ precisely at the time when he formally became the sacrifice for sin and our Savior.
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
The baptismal rite symbolically represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus; the convert descends into the baptismal bath, is covered with its waters, and emerges into a new life. In the act of baptism, the person goes through the experience of dying to sin, being buried, and rising – as did Christ. As a result, the Christian lives in union with the risen Christ; a union which comes to fullness when the Christian finds themselves “with Christ in glory.”
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
The efficacy of the resurrection is ascribed to the Father, specifically to his glory. As in the Old Testament exodus where miracles were ascribed to Yahweh’s glory, so too is the raising of Christ.
we too might live in newness of life.
Literally, “may walk in newness of life.”
“To walk” is a favorite expression of Paul, borrowed from the Old Testament (2 Kings 20:3; Proverbs 8:20), to designate the conscious ethical conduct of the Christian.
Paul’s real intent in drawing these lines of comparison between the death and resurrection of Jesus and the baptism and new life of Christians is ethical exhortation. He seeks to encourage them to set aside their old manner of living and to take on their new life of holiness.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
Note the future tense. Baptism identifies us not only with Christ’s act of dying but also with his rising; even to a share in the divine inheritance.
We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
Paul characterizes their former lives as slavery to sin. This old enslaved self has to be crucified. Just as death had no power over the resurrected Christ, so sin would have no power over the baptized Christian.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
This could mean that from the standpoint of the law, a dead person is absolved or acquitted since sin no longer has a claim against them, or that the person who has died has lost the very means of sinning. In either case, a change in status has ensued: the old condition has ended and a new one has begun.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
i.e., been baptized
we believe that we shall also live with him.
A condition which is not the object of sensible perception or immediate consciousness, it is perceived only with the eyes of faith.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
This doesn’t mean that Jesus’ completed act of sacrifice on the cross some 2,000 years ago did it all and is over and done with. Jesus’ death, the ultimate sin offering, was sufficient to open heaven for all of us for all time. This offering is still being made for us in heaven (Revelation 5:6) so that we can approach God the Father and have our sins forgiven and forgotten. This sacrifice will never be repeated because it has never ceased.
as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.
We are no longer slaves, but children of God, brothers of Jesus.
Crucifixion is a fitting image for Christian conversion not only because of the role it played in Christ’s death but also because the torment it entails exemplifies the suffering that a change of life will exact on the Christians. However, the cross is the only way to new life.
Gospel – Luke 24:1-12
At daybreak on the first day of the week
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus
took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, behold,
two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
They said to them,
“Why do you seek the living one among the dead?
He is not here, but he has been raised.
Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners
and be crucified, and rise on the third day.”
And they remembered his words.
Then they returned from the tomb
and announced all these things to the eleven
and to all the others.
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James;
the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,
but their story seemed like nonsense
and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb,
bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone;
then he went home amazed at what had happened.
With our gospel reading, the vigil breaks into Easter joy. The tomb is empty. Christ is risen. As we hear this proclaimed, we rejoice in the triumph of life over death and the dawn of our redemption.
At daybreak
The power of darkness (Luke 22:53) gives way to the dawn of Jesus’ victory over death.
on the first day of the week
The first Easter Sunday.
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus
These women are Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James.
took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
The women came to the tomb to complete the burial rites that were interrupted on the day of his death (Luke 23:54-56). Their dedication to Jesus is remarkable.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
There is some dramatic irony here, meaning that the audience knows something that the characters in the story don’t know. The title “Lord Jesus” is a post-resurrection title rooted in faith in the risen Christ. The text makes it clear that the women did not expect to find the tomb empty; by using the title “Lord Jesus” at a point in the story before anyone fully understands what has happened, Luke is establishing dramatic irony.
This technique deepens our understanding of the text. Because we, gathered at the Easter Vigil to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, believe in the risen Christ, we may forget just how difficult it was for the women and the apostles to comprehend the Easter good news.
While they were puzzling over this,
Initially the empty tomb led to confusion, not to any faith.
behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.
In all three synoptic gospels, the women are met at the empty tomb and told the significance of what they are seeing.
The description of these two men (who presumably are angels) is reminiscent of the transfiguration account. The New International Version translation tells us they wore “clothes that gleamed like lightning.”
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
Amazed at all that has taken place this early morning — the rolled-away stone, the missing body, and now two angels appearing — the women respond in fear, bowing their faces to the ground before the heavenly messengers.
Encounters with angels are often described in scripture as terrifying. This is likely due to some combination of the supernatural character of the event, anxiety about what the message from the angel might be, or the appearance of the angels themselves.
They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised.
The first proclamation of the Resurrection: He is raised, he is living!
This is the core Easter Gospel. Jesus has conquered death and is still alive.
Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.”
The messengers remind the women that Jesus predicted his own passion and resurrection.
Earlier in his gospel, Luke conveyed three such occasions on which Jesus warned his disciples of his impending death (Luke 9:22, 9:44, 19:31).
And they remembered his words.
None of the passages about Jesus’ predictions specifically mention that women were among those present. Perhaps they were there, perhaps he spoke words like this to them at another (unrecorded) time, or perhaps they received his words secondhand.
Recalling Jesus’ words would now help them interpret the significance of the empty tomb.
Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others.
The holy women are the first to proclaim the Easter gospel.
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,
Luke is careful to record the names of three of the women. These specific women had accompanied him throughout his journeys, attending to his needs and the needs of other disciples (Luke 8:1-3).
but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them.
The Greek word used here for “nonsense” connotes wild talk by a sick person in delirium.
All four gospels state the doubt and hesitation of the eleven and other disciples in accepting the Christian proclamation. This indicates that Jesus’ predictions of the passion did not cause them to expect that Jesus would rise from the dead. If they had expected the resurrection, the women’s news would have confirmed their expectations and they would have believed them.
The apostles have a way to go in their odyssey from misunderstanding and confusion to understanding and faith.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb,
The leader of the apostles, although not yet understanding or believing, goes to find out.
bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.
Remember, Peter does not yet understand what the reader understands. Peter is amazed at the empty tomb and at the women’s story, which is what Luke refers to as “what had happened,” but only when Peter experiences the presence of the risen Christ will he believe the good news that we celebrate on Easter Sunday: Jesus is still alive.
Connections and Themes
Holy Saturday is a time of liminality — we are no longer in one place, but we have not yet arrived at the other. We are in the crossing. We are moving from darkness into light.
The passage through water. The vigil readings recount our journey from darkness into light, from the chaotic waters of creation to the saving waters of baptism. We begin at the dawn of creation, when God separated the waters and called light out of the darkness, ordered the world and made it pulsing with life. The unfathomable nature of the trust that is exacted of us as we embark on and remain faithful to this journey is seen in the test to which Abraham is put. In order to embrace the new life that God has planned for us, we must be willing to relinquish all that we hold dear in this life. This includes all our hopes and dreams and even that upon which we have based our future. God must be our hope and our dream; God must be the foundation of our future.
In the dark of the night, we must be willing to follow God into the unknown. If we can do this, if we can risk all and leave behind the life to which we have grown accustomed, we will be able to survive in this period of liminality. All we need to sustain us at this time is the confidence of knowing that God, who is our redeemer, loves us with indescribable passion. Secure in this love, we will be able to turn to God for all that we need. Embraced by God’s everlasting covenant, we believe that we are being led to a land that is abundantly fertile and secure from all that might harm us. It is in this liminal stage that we can accept God’s commandments of life and promise to live according to God’s plan for us.
The vigil readings end with a promise of regeneration. The waters that at first threatened us now cleanse us. We are given new hearts that will enable us to live the life of faith to which we will soon again commit ourselves. We now stand at the threshold of a new creation — our next step is into the waters of baptism, there to be re-created, to be born anew, to die and to rise in Christ. Then our passing over will be complete, and we will be embraced by Christ, our true Passover.
Sunday Readings 