20250419 WHAT IT MEANS TO SHARE IN CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
First reading | Genesis 1:1-2:2 |
God saw all that he had made, and indeed it was very good
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.
God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day.
God said, ‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning came: the second day.
God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.
God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.
God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.
God said, ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven.’ And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind of living creature with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged creature. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the earth.’ Evening came and morning came: the fifth day.
God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild beast.’ And so it was. God made every kind of wild beast, every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it was good.
God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’
God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage of plants for food.’ And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.
Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing.
Psalm |
Psalm 103(104):1-2,5-6,10,12-14,24,35 |
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe!
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
You founded the earth on its base,
to stand firm from age to age.
You wrapped it with the ocean like a cloak:
the waters stood higher than the mountains.
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow in between the hills.
On their banks dwell the birds of heaven;
from the branches they sing their song.
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
From your dwelling you water the hills;
earth drinks its fill of your gift.
You make the grass grow for the cattle
and the plants to serve man’s needs.
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Second reading | Genesis 22:1-18 |
The sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith
God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied. ‘Take your son,’ God said ‘your only child Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you.’
Rising early next morning Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place God had pointed out to him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there; we will worship and come back to you.’
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, loaded it on Isaac, and carried in his own hands the fire and the knife. Then the two of them set out together. Isaac spoke to his father Abraham, ‘Father’ he said. ‘Yes, my son’ he replied. ‘Look,’ he said ‘here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.’ Then the two of them went on together.
When they arrived at the place God had pointed out to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son.’ Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his son.
Abraham called this place ‘The Lord Provides’, and hence the saying today: On the mountain the Lord provides.
The angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven. ‘I swear by my own self – it is the Lord who speaks – because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.’
Psalm |
Psalm 15(16):5,8-11 |
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
Third reading |
Exodus 14:15-15:1 |
The sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’
Then the angel of God, who marched at the front of the army of Israel, changed station and moved to their rear. The pillar of cloud changed station from the front to the rear of them, and remained there. It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the armies drawing any closer the whole night long.
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. ‘The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’
‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them.
That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.
It was then that Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song in honour of the Lord:
Canticle | Exodus 15 |
Hymn of victory after crossing the Red Sea
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!
The Lord is my strength, my song, my salvation.
This is my God and I extol him,
my father’s God and I give him praise.
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
The Lord is a warrior! ‘The Lord’ is his name.
The chariots of Pharaoh he hurled into the sea,
the flower of his army is drowned in the sea.
The deeps hide them; they sank like a stone.
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
Your right hand, Lord, glorious in its power,
your right hand, Lord, has shattered the enemy.
In the greatness of your glory you crushed the foe.
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
You will lead your people and plant them on your mountain,
the place, O Lord, where you have made your home,
the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have made.
The Lord will reign for ever and ever.
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
Fourth reading | Isaiah 54:5-14 |
With everlasting love the Lord your redeemer has taken pity on you
Thus says the Lord:
Now your creator will be your husband,
his name, the Lord of Hosts;
your redeemer will be the Holy One of Israel,
he is called the God of the whole earth.
Yes, like a forsaken wife, distressed in spirit,
the Lord calls you back.
Does a man cast off the wife of his youth?
says your God.
I did forsake you for a brief moment,
but with great love will I take you back.
In excess of anger, for a moment
I hid my face from you.
But with everlasting love I have taken pity on you,
says the Lord, your redeemer.
I am now as I was in the days of Noah
when I swore that Noah’s waters
should never flood the world again.
So now I swear concerning my anger with you
and the threats I made against you;
for the mountains may depart,
the hills be shaken,
but my love for you will never leave you
and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken,
says the Lord who takes pity on you.
Unhappy creature, storm-tossed, disconsolate,
see, I will set your stones on carbuncles
and your foundations on sapphires.
I will make rubies your battlements,
your gates crystal,
and your entire wall precious stones.
Your sons will all be taught by the Lord.
The prosperity of your sons will be great.
You will be founded on integrity;
remote from oppression, you will have nothing to fear;
remote from terror, it will not approach you.
Psalm |
Psalm 29(30):2,4-6,11-13 |
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,
restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,
give thanks to his holy name.
His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life.
At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
The Lord listened and had pity.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:
O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
Fifth reading | Isaiah 55:1-11 |
Come to me and your soul will live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you
Thus says the Lord:
Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;
though you have no money, come!
Buy corn without money, and eat,
and, at no cost, wine and milk.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
your wages on what fails to satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat
and rich food to enjoy.
Pay attention, come to me;
listen, and your soul will live.
With you I will make an everlasting covenant
out of the favours promised to David.
See, I have made of you a witness to the peoples,
a leader and a master of the nations.
See, you will summon a nation you never knew,
those unknown will come hurrying to you,
for the sake of the Lord your God,
of the Holy One of Israel who will glorify you.
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in forgiving;
for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.
Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.
Canticle | Isaiah 12 |
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious deeds;
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Sixth reading |
Baruch 3:9-15,32-4:4 |
In the radiance of the Lord, make your way to light
Listen, Israel, to commands that bring life;
hear, and learn what knowledge means.
Why, Israel, why are you in the country of your enemies,
growing older and older in an alien land,
sharing defilement with the dead,
reckoned with those who go to Sheol?
Because you have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have lived in peace for ever.
Learn where knowledge is, where strength,
where understanding, and so learn
where length of days is, where life,
where the light of the eyes and where peace.
But who has found out where she lives,
who has entered her treasure house?
But the One who knows all knows her,
he has grasped her with his own intellect,
he has set the earth firm for ever
and filled it with four-footed beasts.
He sends the light – and it goes,
he recalls it – and trembling it obeys;
the stars shine joyfully at their set times:
when he calls them, they answer, ‘Here we are’;
they gladly shine for their creator.
It is he who is our God,
no other can compare with him.
He has grasped the whole way of knowledge,
and confided it to his servant Jacob,
to Israel his well-beloved;
so causing her to appear on earth
and move among men.
This is the book of the commandments of God,
the Law that stands for ever;
those who keep her live,
those who desert her die.
Turn back, Jacob, seize her,
in her radiance make your way to light:
do not yield your glory to another,
your privilege to a people not your own.
Israel, blessed are we:
what pleases God has been revealed to us.
Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):8-11 |
You have the message of eternal life, O Lord.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
You have the message of eternal life, O Lord.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
You have the message of eternal life, O Lord.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
You have the message of eternal life, O Lord.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
You have the message of eternal life, O Lord.
Seventh reading |
Ezekiel 36:16-17,18-28 |
I shall pour clean water over you and I shall give you a new heart
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own land, but they defiled it by their conduct and actions. I then discharged my fury at them because of the blood they shed in their land and the idols with which they defiled it. I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them in foreign countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved. And now they have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, “These are the people of the Lord; they have been exiled from his land.”
‘But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone.
‘And so, say to the House of Israel, “The Lord says this: I am not doing this for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land.
‘“I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.”’
Psalm |
Psalm 41(42):2-3,5,42:3-4 |
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
Epistle | Romans 6:3-11 |
Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again
When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.
If in union with Christ we have imitated his death, we shall also imitate him in his resurrection. We must realise that our former selves have been crucified with him to destroy this sinful body and to free us from the slavery of sin. When a Christian dies, of course, he has finished with sin.
But we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.
Psalm |
Psalm 117(118):1-2,16-17,22-23 |
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 24:1-12 |
Why look among the dead for someone who is alive?
On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, the women went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on entering discovered that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. As they stood there not knowing what to think, two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side. Terrified, the women lowered their eyes. But the two men said to them, ‘Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; he has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee: that the Son of Man had to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified, and rise again on the third day?’ And they remembered his words.
When the women returned from the tomb they told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them also told the apostles, but this story of theirs seemed pure nonsense, and they did not believe them.
Peter, however, went running to the tomb. He bent down and saw the binding cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened.
19 April 2025, Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil)
WHAT IT MEANS TO SHARE IN CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GN 1:1–2:2; PS 104:1-2,5-6,10,12-14,24,35; EX 14:15-15:1; EX 15:1-18; IS 55:1-11; IS 12:2-6; ROM 6:3-11; LK 24:1-12]
This evening, the Church celebrates the most important liturgical celebration of the year, namely, Easter Vigil. The celebration of this most solemn Mass is the climax of the Easter Triduum beginning from Maundy Thursday. The thrust of the Easter Triduum is to invite us all to die with Christ on Good Friday so that we can share in His resurrection on Easter. But what does it mean to share in the resurrection when we have no inkling of what a resurrected life entails since none of us have seen the Risen Lord or have entered into a resurrected state? At least when we celebrate Christmas or Good Friday, we can feel with Jesus as a human being. We know the innocence of a baby and the tragedy of betrayal and an unjust condemnation. But with the resurrection, we have no means by which we can compare with. Nevertheless, the Church in her wisdom enables us to enter into the resurrection of Christ by making use of some symbols that pertain to darkness and light, death and life.
The first important symbol used by the Church in the Easter liturgy is the symbol of light. Right at the outset of the Easter Vigil liturgy, we have the celebration of light. To bring out this drama between light and darkness, the Church mandates that the Easter Vigil be celebrated only after sunset. With a church in total darkness, the celebrant lights the paschal candle from a fire outside the church and then processes in slowly with the people carrying the paschal candle which is then used to light up the rest of the candles. Going through the darkness of the aisle of the church, one can identify with the Hebrews who were liberated from their bondage from the Egyptians and then led through the Red Sea as they began their journey towards the Promised Land. They, too, were guided by the pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.
Light, therefore, is a symbol of truth whereas darkness is a symbol of evil. To walk in the dark is to walk without knowing our direction in life. Sin is always committed under cover of darkness because we do not want people to discover our true motives. Sin is to live in falsehood, cheating, and is a deception. When the service begins in darkness, it is a dramatic way to illustrate our lost identity and direction in life. Life is without meaning and purpose. We do not know where we are going or how to live an authentic life that can bring true happiness. Such a life is but a life under the bondage of evil. This is the reality of the world today without God. Humanity lives in darkness and in confusion. They do not know their way to life. They do not know the values they need to live a life of joy and love.
Light, however, shines for the world to see. By proclaiming Jesus as the Light of the world, we are saying that Jesus firstly exposes the deception of our sins and shows us the way to life. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Light enables us to see good from evil. Light transforms chaos into cosmos. That is what we read in the first reading when everything was in darkness at the beginning of time, God said, “Let there be light.” This explains why in the early Church baptism was also called the Sacrament of illumination. The baptismal candle is the symbol of enlightenment that is given to us in Baptism. The elects are enlightened in the truth, about their identity and destiny in life. From the Paschal candle we all light our own candles together with the newly baptized for whom the light of Christ shines in our hearts. Holding the lighted candle, it signifies that we have been brought into the light. In Him, we recognize what is true and what is false, what is good and what is evil.
Because light comes together with heat, it shows us that truth is love. Heat is connected with fire, a fire that transforms and burns out the evil in us. But evil is overcome not by force or by strength but by love. Fire which transmits warmth is a symbol of love and we know that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in tongues of fire. As the paschal candle burns itself out, it is being consumed. As it brings light to others, that light continues to be present now in the hearts of all believers. It is consumed by burning and yet it lives on in the lives of those who receive that light. This is truly symbolic of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. Jesus as the Light reveals to us the truth, but this truth is love through His cross. Only when the truth of love burns stronger and brighter, can we light up the world today.
The second most important symbol is the use of water. This symbol is a symbol of life and death. On one hand, we cannot live without water. It is necessary for life. We remember how the Samaritan woman in St John’s gospel was seeking for the living water, and not just natural water. Water, therefore, is a symbol of life. Baptism, therefore, is what brings us a renewed life. In the book of Ezekiel, we are told that wherever the river flows, it brought life to all trees, bearing fruits in abundance, with plants giving medicinal assistance, giving life to all. (Ez 47:1-12) Baptism, therefore, is not only for the cleansing for our body but it gives us a new birth. Only Jesus can give us that living water. Indeed, at the end of the feast of the Tabernacles, the Lord cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (Jn 7:37-39)
This new birth presupposes that we die to ourselves. In the last book of the New Testament, the book of Revelation tells us that in God’s new world, the sea will no longer exists. The sea is seen as an enemy of man because the sea is fathomless and can swallow human beings into the depths that even modern technology cannot find. In fact, all evil people were thrown into the sea to suffer eternal death. So, water has become a symbolic representation of Jesus’ death on the cross, a death which makes it possible for us to share in His resurrection. Consequently, in the Easter Vigil liturgy, we have Jesus the light of the world symbolized in the Paschal candle being dipped three times into the waters to sanctify it so that those who were baptized with the water will be given a new life as they die to themselves and to their sins. Indeed, in the early Church, the candidate for baptism was stripped of his garments and descended into the baptismal font and immersed three times, a symbol of being stripped from worldly attachments and sins, dying to oneself. He then puts on a new garment to signify that he is a new creation in Christ. Rising from the waters, they rise up again as being born again in Christ, becomes a new creation.
Finally, being clothed with the white garment and holding the lighted candle as a sign of the new life in Christ, they are called to sing “Alleluia” in good times and in bad because the choice is no longer between death and life in this world but between living in Christ or living without Christ. When we live in Christ, there is no fear of death. As the Lord told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (Jn 11:25f) St Paul in the same vein also wrote, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” (Rom 14:7-9)
Truly, we are now liberated from bondage, not just to sin but even to this world. Our life is no longer lived only for this world but for eternity. Happiness is no longer how rich or successful we are but how loving and truthful we are. We no longer have to live in anxiety or in fear of our future because we will now be motivated to live our life to the fullest, giving ourselves totally to the service of our fellowmen and to be at the service of God’s kingdom. And when we face trials and temptations, we can still sing Alleluia because we know that God is faithful to us in love. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength. But through our trials, we will perfect ourselves in truth and love. Most of all, we are not worried about physical death as we know that our body is immortal and imperishable and we will share in Christ’s resurrection at the end of this life. Until then, we will share the joy of fellowship with our Lord in the Eucharist and communion with all the saints on earth and in heaven.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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