Meaning of the resurrection is ‘the story behind the story,’ Archbishop Vigneron says as he baptizes three, confirms 13 at Detroit cathedral
DETROIT — Jesus’ claim to be the son of God — derided and mocked by the soldiers and chief priests on Holy Thursday night — was vindicated on Easter Sunday, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron said, and this vindication is what allows Christians today to confidently identify as Jesus’ followers.
Celebrating the solemn Easter vigil at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on April 16, Archbishop Vigneron offered what he called “the story behind the story” of Easter, expounding on the meaning of Christ’s resurrection for all who believe in him.
“We remember on Holy Thursday night when Jesus identifies himself with God. He asks the soldiers and chief priests, ‘Whom do you seek?’ And he says, ‘I am,’ when they say, ‘We seek Jesus of Nazareth,’” Archbishop Vigneron said during his homily.
“In the garden, Jesus gives himself the very name that the Lord gave himself when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush: ‘I Am,’” the archbishop said. “He identified himself as the Son. He identified himself as the one who is obedient and accepts the will of the Father. And so that’s the meaning of Easter.”
Archbishop Vigneron celebrated the vigil Mass flanked by half a dozen priests and a handful of seminarian servers who tended the blazing Easter fire in the cathedral plaza before Mass. Blessing the Easter candle — designed this year by cathedral rector Fr. J.J. Mech — the archbishop led a procession into the darkened church, stopping thrice as a deacon proclaimed, “The light of Christ,” to the faithful’s response, “Thanks be to God.”
The flame from the Easter candle slowly spread from person to person, holding smaller candles, until the cathedral was bathed in a soft, orange glow.
From the pulpit, Fr. Mario Amore, moderator of Renaissance Family 1, which includes St. Aloysius Parish, Old St. Mary’s Parish and the cathedral in Detroit, chanted the Exsultet, the solemn Easter proclamation that triumphantly rejoices at length in Christ’s victory over the darkness of sin and death.
Other signs of Easter joy abounded throughout the liturgy: the illumination of the church, billowing incense, brightly colored flowers and banners of white and gold adorning the sanctuary. The three-hour Mass included Old Testament readings recounting salvation history — how God made mankind as the pinnacle of creation, how He rescued His people from slavery in Egypt and remained with Israel in its wandering — before a triumphant Alleluia, the first of the Easter season, rang in the Gospel of Jesus’ resurrection.
The archbishop welcomed 13 people into full communion with the Church, baptizing three and confirming all 13 as their sponsors and loved ones applauded joyously.
Later, the entire congregation renewed their own baptismal promises as the archbishop sprinkled holy water and the faithful reverently crossed themselves.
While Jesus’ bold claim on Holy Thursday night to be the eternal Son of the Father was vindicated with his resurrection on Easter Sunday, the archbishop said, Christ’s “I am” was contrasted by “another statement about identity” on Holy Thursday night.
“Remember that Peter was accompanied by the other disciple in the courtyard of the high priest,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “And when asked if he was a disciple of Jesus, he said, ‘I am not.’ He did not want any part of Jesus' fate.”
Though Peter was later reconciled with his profession of faith, the Resurrection gives each Christian an opportunity to answer the question posed to Peter in the courtyard.
“We have been asked, in some way or other, ‘Are you this man’s disciple?’ And we have said, ‘I am,’” the archbishop said. “The resurrection is an opportunity for us to renew our response to the question again: Are you this man’s disciple? Are you the disciple of Jesus, crushed by the cross, made powerless in front of Pontius Pilate and all the forces of Rome? We say again this Easter, ‘I am.’ I am his disciple because his death did not end in the tomb, but he is risen from the dead.”
The surety of Jesus’ resurrection gives hope to all, especially those newly baptized into the faith, that their sacrifices and crosses will be worth it in the end, he said.
Even Peter laid down his life in the end, the archbishop added, because he became convinced of the great meaning of Jesus’ rising from the dead.
“Sociologists tell us there is a great crisis of meaning in the world today,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “It’s one of the chief causes of so many suicides and this low-grade fever of anger and frustration at so many dead ends that beset us."
When Christians stand up and say, "Yes, I am a disciple of the crucified one who is risen," they give witness to this meaning and share hope with the world, he added.
“It cost Jesus a great deal to purchase for us the hope that sustains us. He willingly paid that cost in order to purchase for us a possibility of eternal life, to establish an eternal hope, an invincible hope, an unshakeable hope," the archbishop said. "He gives us the strength we need to assist in spreading this good news: that the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone of this new reality — that Christ is risen, and we will rise from the dead with Christ because he loves us and wants us to be in the presence of his Father forever.
“We say, ‘Yes, I am this man’s disciple,'” the archbishop said.
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