Dear Brothers and Sisters: This month I wish to share with you a section of the homily I shared with the community here in Washington, DC during this year’s Easter Vigil. 

The Easter Vigil we celebrate conveys a powerful truth. The Jewish day begins at nightfall, and so we begin this service as the sun sets and a hush settles on our neighborhood. This evening there is a small procession, but no Easter parade; the Easter candle is brought into the church, but there is no grand display of fireworks; we shout “alleluia,” but not at the same decibel level as the cheers of the March Madness basketball crowds in Indianapolis. Perhaps this relatively understated arrival of Easter is fitting. 

After all, Jesus’ resurrection takes place in the still of night. When the women arrive at the tomb at dawn, the stone has been rolled away and the body is gone. The resurrection has already happened—silently, without fanfare and without audience. In her book Learning to Walk in the Dark, Barbara Brown Taylor writes:

“For many years as I have been listening to Easter sermons, I have never heard anyone talk about that part. Resurrection is always announced with Easter lilies, the sounds of trumpets, bright streaming light. But it did not happen that way. It happened in a cave, it happened in complete silence, in absolute darkness, with the smell of damp stone and dug earth in the air. …New life starts in the dark. Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark.” 

Resurrection isn’t always accompanied by bright lights and party music. It usually happens in the most ordinary moments, often slipping in quietly. We find resurrection in the forgiveness of a family member, when an immigrant woman puts on glasses and for the first time can see an object on the floor, when someone who has lost a loved one during the past year can finally move on with a funeral and the burial of their loved one, in the smile of a person who has experienced stifling depression. Resurrection happens in the here and now, in this moment we are in. It may not be a sudden awe-inspiring event. Just as the Grand Canyon was formed by the Colorado River over four million years, these smaller resurrection experiences shape our lives over time in very powerful, salvific ways. Experiencing resurrection is a process more than an event.

In 2014 when the parish of St. Clement in Saratoga Springs, NY put on Jesus Christ Superstar we went out of our way to promote it. In a discussion with a local Christian radio station, they said they would not promote the musical since it omitted the resurrection of Jesus Christ. With respect to Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice, we told the radio station we had added a resurrection scene. After the crucifixion we had the character of Mary Magdalene sing a song written by Natalie Grant entitled “Alive”. As she sang, the Christ character came back into the Church dressed all in white followed by the cast paying homage to the Risen Lord. The refrain of the song goes as follows: “Alive! Alive! Look what Mercy’s overcome; Death has lost and Love has won Alive! Alive! Hallelujah, Risen Lord, the only One I fall before I am His because He is alive.”  Every time I hear that song and remember that experience, it is another resurrection moment for me. I am saved and I am alive.

May these days after the celebration of Easter Sunday find you continuing to experience your own resurrection moments! Easter blessings to you and your loved ones!

In the Spirit of the Redeemer,

Paul J. Borowski, C.Ss.R.