The Exultet chanted by Dan Mason Easter Vigil St. Matthias Parish Bala Cynwyd PA (Happy Birthday, Moe!)

It seems strange to say that each one of us is born to die – but it is true. We are born to live … we are born to die … and we are born to love! Our mission therefore is to do all of this well. We learn to live, die and love from the people around us – our parents, family, friends, and culture. But we also learn to hate from the influences around us. The learning curve therefore is steep, and the climb from valley to mountain is not so easy. The prophets are said to stand high on the mountain where the crowd can see their actions and hear their words. Martin Luther King was that kind of prophet – not perfect – but very true to the biblical world in which he was raised. But those around him were raised in a biblical world too – compromised by both hate and fear! Jesus fulfilled his mission. He breathed his last on a Calvary hill where the counter-cultural cross of peace stood boldly; where he ‘gave over’ his spirit. His last words were simply, “It is accomplished.” Listen to the sound of his cosmic breath as the chant of Jesus’n last words proclaim the Spirit’s release. His breath is your breath; his life becomes your life. “It Is Accomplished!” It Is Accomplished

Cosmic winds reinforce the words of Jesus: “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Here we have a glimpse into the secret life of God. There is a sacred intimacy in this mantra of Jesus, and it is at the heart of what we call ‘creation.’ God is Spirit; God is love. And ‘all that is’ resonates, vibrates, and dances in the rhythms of this spirit. A Body of Christ lives on Spirit, and wants to breathe and hold in breathless exultation its own sacred moment of flesh and blood. This is Trinitarian life, and you and I, plants and flowers, animals and birds, oceans, mountains, galaxies beyond galaxies, all of us - belong to this Body of Christ. The question will always be this: do we know who we are? See yourself as a child of God, created in the pattern of the Divine with Christ as your template. Such intimacy with God is the fruit of your baptism, and the love of God is the love of your life. You will know this when you have learned to say, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Abwoon (‘Abwoon’ is an Aramaic word indicating a loving parent.)

The words of Jesus at the Passover meal are realized on the cross. “This is my body broken for you. This is my blood poured out for you. This is my life given up for you.” When an act of sacrificial love takes place, justice and communion result. Jesus is the lamb who is slaughtered as God acts to set people free. We call this the Paschal Mystery; it’s symbolic roots are found in Egypt when Moses broke the bonds of Egyptian slavery. There is reconciliation in this freedom. The divorce between God’s life and human life is annulled. Communion is possible once again. You might ask, ‘how is this done?’ The answer is given simply … and it is profound. By divine love, by messianic obedience, and by a sacred ritual of forgiveness … the Cross! In the words of Jesus: “There is no greater love than this: to give your life for another.” This is the way. This is the benchmark. This is the answer. Kyrie

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” A cry that deserves an answer! The question is sincere. The answer will come … but not before the pain of death prepares the way. But first, how do you explain the cruel mocking of Jesus on the cross? How do you justify cruelty and torture in our own times? Have you ever heard the phrase, “hate is fear?” It infers that behind every act of hate there lurks a deep and abiding fear. Bullies ridicule; gangs mock: political persuasions slander and sabotage! Odd isn’t it, when nations steeped in religious tradition, torture their enemies. They offer excuses - just as Pilate and Annas did - in the scourging and crucifixion of Jesus. Can’t we make the connection between the Gospel story and our own moral values? Or is it inevitable that ‘fear trumps faith’? Pilate’s soldiers are good at mocking. But so are we in ways that are subtle, self-redeeming and sometimes vicious. Jesus’ cry of anguish is from Psalm 22! He does not play the pity card, or beg, or pout. But his question deserves an answer nevertheless. My God

Remember the wedding feast at Cana. Mary had said to the waiters: “Do whatever he tells you.” John’s Gospel makes clear the intimacy and trust of mother and son! Now Mary stands at the foot of the cross. She is with Mary Magdalene, Mary Cleopas and John the disciple. They stand in the midst of tragedy and terror, and their courage appears to have been extraordinary. There is a mystical link between the first sign at Cana and this culminating sign at Calvary. There, Jesus had transformed water into wine; here he transforms injustice , hatred and cruelty into an act of sacrificial love. The soldier will soon pierce the side of Jesus allowing blood and water to pour forth. In an eternal act of obedience, Jesus will transform injustice, pain and death into a sacrament of love! The wedding feast at Cana has reached its ultimate end, a consummated marriage between God and humankind. At Cana Jesus had said to his mother, “My hour has not yet come.” But at Calvary the hour has come, the “hour for the Son of Man to be glorified.” This is Mary’s hour too. She is the courageous woman and the true disciple. She is faithful to her son and to her own vow: “Be it done unto me according to your will.” Jesus says to her, “behold your son.” And to John, and John’s church, “Behold your mother.” Woman

Forgiveness and love are inseparable virtues. If you are incapable of forgiving another, or asking for forgiveness, you cannot, or just do not love. Think of someone whom you have not forgiven – or who has not forgiven you. Perhaps you need help to deal with a stubborn ego, yours or another’s. Maybe you just need to grab the bull by the horns and call somebody. If you have not reached that point of resolution, pray for courage! Pray for wisdom. Act with humility! But truth will never let you walk away from the responsibility of embracing forgiveness. And only truth can set you free! Look to the Gospel story to find strength and support. Understand what is at the heart of the passion and death of Jesus. Here is the cast: Peter. Pilate. Soldiers. Thieves. Spectators. An absent emperor! The culture. And of course, the Prince of Darkness! On the cross the position of Jesus is clear: he reconciles and he forgives. For he understands, 
“they know not what they do.” Forgive Them

The wife of Pilate dreams about the innocence of Jesus and tells her husband her concerns. Passion presents the dream inversely and puts it in the confused mind of Pilate. Listen to the haunting questions that Pilate needed to ask. Are you a king? Where are you from? What have you done? And what is truth? What really is truth! So what about you and me! What do you do in the face of a challenging responsibility? Are you willing to lose your job to do the right thing? Have you made a compromise recently that really bothers you? Perhaps you have held back on a truth lest you hurt someone’s feelings - a colleague or family member? Pilate’s history was one of ruthless service to the emperor. Killing innocent civilians was not a difficult call for him. His conscience seems to have been formed by the demands of his job - much less so by a conscience informed by faith. Of course, we don’t know this man. But the question is, do we know ourselves! Do you ask the questions that truly matter? In the life of the Spirit, dreams will come … night and day! Pay attention … and listen to them. Are You A King

Have you been betrayed by someone you trusted? Or have you betrayed another but have no foreseeable way to find forgiveness? These are occasions for deep pain in life. Remember the scripture where Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Three times Peter responded, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” In today’s episode Peter denies Jesus three times. Even the cock crows, as though the universe itself needed to protest. Biblical faith resonates in the constant theme of intimate love. Call it covenant, or marriage, friendship or discipleship, every word of Jesus is meant to draw us more deeply into a holy union. We are called to be soul mates in the Body of Christ. But betrayal is constant in life. We live with it, we are pained by it, humiliated by it – and we carry it like a cross whose splinters are embedded in the tender tissues of our heart. Bold and tempestuous Peter, scared and confused, wounding his beloved friend - and scarring deeply his own vulnerable self. Peter the rock – a handful of sand! I Do Not Know The Man

Listen to the words of Jesus in the garden: “Let this cup pass me by; yet not my ways but yours.” No one wants pain in life – and certainly not in the life of a loved one. How often do you hear someone say of a dying relative, ‘we lost her, but at least she didn’t suffer!’ Suffering is at the heart of the story of Jesus. From weeping at the death of Lazarus, to the tears shed over the city of Jerusalem, Jesus felt personal loss deeply. The Latin word ‘patior’ means to suffer, and from its root come the words passion and compassion. They are words clearly identified with the God of Jesus. The cup that Jesus had to drink was filled with the tears of humanity, according to tradition. The God of oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds is also one who sheds tears. Jesus reveals a God who is not aloof, not impersonal, not out of touch. When gods are described as ‘all powerful’ and ‘almighty’ they appear incapable of shedding tears. Jesus’ God is not like that. Jesus God is vulnerable! The mystery is this! In Christ God suffers! In faith we suffer in Christ! And if we suffer in Christ, our sufferings are God’s sufferings. Father, Let This Cup