HOLY SATURDAY / EASTER VIGIL

Who will roll back the stone for us? 

Holy Saturday is a paradox, an “already but not yet” moment: our Lord has died, but he is not yet risen. There is no celebration of morning Mass. Instead, the Church waits in silence for the Easter Vigil. As the women kept watch for the dawn to anoint Jesus’ body, we keep watch for the first light of the Easter fire. We wait with the entire Christian people for the light of Christ to overcome the darkness of sin, for our crucified Messiah to defeat death.

Mary Magdalene and the other women were immersed in the “not yet.” They didn’t have the benefit of two thousand years of faith in the resurrection; they only knew that Jesus was dead. The horror of his crucifixion still fresh, they went expecting to find his dead body. “Who will roll back the stone for us?” they wondered (Mark 16:3). They couldn’t foresee that instead of a corpse, they would find an empty tomb. They couldn’t imagine that God would not only roll away the heavy stone, but he would also overpower the immovable weight of sin. They never dreamed that Jesus would trample death and resurrect their shattered faith.

Jesus did all of this and so much more. And he didn’t only do it for these women—he did it for us as well. By his death and resurrection, he conquered sin and death, doubt, and despair—for everyone. We are freed from the darkness of fear, where the “stones” in our lives appear impossible to move. In the light of the Easter candle, we can see clearly that Jesus has already demolished every obstacle that prevents us from knowing God. As an early Christian hymn proclaims, “The banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.”

So rejoice as you keep vigil with the women. Christ is risen! And you, too, will rise!

“Thank you, Jesus, for opening the treasures of heaven!”

Exodus 14:15–15:1
(Psalm) Exodus 15:1-6, 17-18
Romans 6:3-11
Mark 16:1-7