Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil

Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 
‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’

Do not be amazed! What an odd thing to say after the Resurrection, and yet, how appropriate for us to hear. These are not earthly words. They are heavenly ones. They are filled with trust in God’s Providence. The angel is not amazed because he knows God always follows through on His Promises. We on the other hand are amazed because we are human and used to being let down or failing to follow through on a promise. This is not how God thinks or works. His Ways are above our ways and we should be very thankful for that. We should also remember that Jesus went before us to prepare the way to eternal life and now it is up to us to follow in his footsteps. This task is bewildering and frightening to us because it forces us to ask ourselves the following questions:

How can we make ourselves into a living sacrifice for our God and His children? How can we transfigure our lives to God’s Ways? How can we trust God’s Divine Plan when it is obscured by darkness?

O Lord, let us be not amazed that you have gone before us to prepare our way to the heavenly Kingdom.

Amen.