An Easter Vigil Homily
Fiat lux
“Fiat lux, let there be light.” These words are the first recorded words of God in Scripture, and they are at the beginning of our many readings tonight. These words, as Pope Benedict pointed out, work as a prophecy for something greater. They tell us something about God Himself, Who is “total Radiance, Life, Truth, Light.” By choosing to create light first, and to let these be His first biblical words, God is showing us Who He is as the light that brings life to darkness, and which brings order to chaos. It is not an exaggeration to say that the whole of salvation history is God trying to share His own light with the people He created.
We, however, so easily and often prefer the darkness and chaos, and so God has to step in over and over to save us and set us free. This happened in the Exodus, when He led His people by the pillar of fire—by a new light. Still, they ran from His brilliance. God did not give up, though. He pursued His people, sending prophets as luminaries to guide the people who dwelt in darkness back to the light of His glory.
When this still failed, God sent His only Son, the “light from light,” to show us the way out of the darkness of sin and death. His light was so glorious that some tried to snuff it out by killing Him, but His Father was prepared. On the first day of the week, after He had died, His Father spoke again: “fiat lux, let there be light.” In that moment, the darkness of the grave was pierced by a new light in a new exodus. God’s brilliant glory shone in the place that was farthest removed from Him—in the depths of death—and new life was given. Christ rose victorious from the underworld with a light that cannot be conquered, darkened, or snuffed out.
We were able to witness this very reality tonight. At the beginning of this solemn celebration, when the fire was lit, it was as if God was saying again, “fiat lux.” The candle was then lit with the light of Christ and processed into the pitch-black church. In that moment, the single candle of Christ’s Resurrection pierced the darkness, and this building, which for a fleeting moment looked and felt like a tomb, was filled with the new light of resurrection.
That light then spread, unable to keep to itself. Christ spread His light to all around, and we held small flames of our own, to show that His light is now with us. It is not locked up, hidden away, or destroyed by darkness. It is alive, vibrant, and radiant on this Easter Night.
But God is not done. Throughout the Church tonight, and throughout this Easter season, so many people will be baptized and receive the sacraments of initiation. They, in various ways, sat in the darkness, but Christ called to them as He did to Lazarus to come out of that darkness. They heard that call and are ready to receive the very light of resurrection this night. When they do, it will be as if God is saying yet again, “fiat lux, let there be light!”
In their reception of the sacraments, in the renewal of our own baptismal promises, we are recipients of the lumen Christi, the light of Christ. As we saw this evening, the light cannot be hidden under a bushel basket or kept to ourselves. It must be spread to a world of darkness and to hearts shrouded in sin. By receiving a candle and by basking in the flame of this new pillar of fire, we are charged by God to spread His light. He is telling us to go out and say, each in our own way and place, “fiat lux.”
This will require everything of you, especially as the world, flesh, and devil seek to destroy every luminary that leads to Christ. Just as this candle cannot give light without giving of itself, we must give of ourselves to others in love and service. Just as Christ could not rise from the dead without dying, we must die so as to live as pillars of fire and give off this new light. But as we can see from the splendor of this holy night, and from the radiance of this beautiful candle of Christ’s resurrection, such a gift of self, even to the point of suffering and death, is worth it.
You are not alone in this great task. Christ the Lord has gone before us to prepare the way and to enlighten the path. And just as it took many bees to “build a torch so precious,” so too we have the whole Body of Christ—each and every saint in heaven and on earth—to rely on and build up. Let us therefore not be afraid to go into the darkest places to spread the light and life of the Gospel. For we go with the full power of the resurrection—the full power of this very night—and we go in the Name of Jesus Christ, Who was crucified and this night is raised again from the dead. Let us go, then, and proclaim: FIAT LUX!