Gospel Year C

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (24:1-12)

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on entering they could not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that as they were perplexed at this, two men in dazzling clothes were suddenly standing beside them. They were terrified and bowed their heads to the ground as the men said to them, ‘Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has been raised up. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be handed over into the power of sinners and be crucified, and rise again on the third day.’ And they remembered his words. And they went back from the tomb and told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. And the other women with them told the apostles, but this story of theirs seemed an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

Peter, however, got up and ran off to the tomb. Bending down, he saw the linen cloths lying there but nothing else; then he went back home, amazed at what had happened.

Luke does not begin the account with the names of the women. Two verses earlier, in the previous chapter, the women ‘who had come from Galilee’ (identified in 8:2-3) crucially ‘saw the tomb and how the body had been laid’ (23:55). They were witnesses of the burial and could be relied upon to find the body again. Despite this, on the morning of the first day of the week, though they found the stone rolled back, they ‘could not find the body’ and ‘were perplexed’. In Luke’s account ‘two men’ in dazzling clothes suddenly appear and question them: ‘why are you looking for the living among the dead?’ These words might suggest that this was a place where several bodies lay. The two men then fulfil their primary role of declaring the kerygma: ‘he has been raised!’ But their speech continues: ‘Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee.’ The women do indeed remember, and they go off to speak to the Eleven. At this point Luke confirms the identity of the women. They must be identified for their testimony to be trusted, and there are other women who are not named. The apostles are sceptical and consider their words ‘an idle tale’.

Peter is more careful. In a scene reminiscent of the disciples running to the tomb in John 20, Peter ‘ran to the tomb’. He ‘saw’ the discarded cloths, and went home. Luke leaves us in doubt about Peter’s reaction, telling readers that he was ‘amazed’ (thaumazon), or perhaps simply ‘wondering’ or ‘perplexed’ at what had happened. It is the beloved disciple in John 20 who ‘saw and believed’. The scepticism of the apostles, however, affirms that they are not gullible. In all the gospels the subsequent appearances of Jesus and his inter-action with women and men demonstrate the reality of his new life.

Gospel Year B

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (16:1-7)

When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ But when they looked up they saw that the stone – for it was very big – had already been rolled back. On entering the tomb they saw a young man seated on the right-hand side clothed in a white robe, and they were amazed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has been raised, he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” ’

This is the oldest narrative account of the Easter kerygma. It identifies the women who went to the tomb: Mary of Magdala, Mary mother of James, and Salome. They were bringing spices to anoint the body of Jesus, an activity which could not have been done on the previous day which was a Sabbath. Thinking ahead they wonder who might be able to roll away the stone which sealed the tomb against predators, but on arrival they find the tomb open. A ‘young man’ in white, contrasting with the ‘angel of the Lord’ in Matthew and the ‘two men’ in Luke, interprets the empty tomb, declaring ‘he has been raised’ (egerthe). The passive verb points to an action of God: God has raised him. The young man then gives explicit instructions to go and tell the disciples, and Peter, who is singled out perhaps due to his leadership role. They are told that they will see Jesus in Galilee. Galilee was where things began, and the reference to Galilee concludes this account of the Jesus story.

Verse 8, arguably the last authentic verse of this gospel, is not included in the reading. It reads: And the women came out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and amazement had gripped them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid (ephobounto gar). The liturgy omits this verse and ends on the positive note of promise that the disciples will see the Risen Jesus in Galilee.

Gospel Year A

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (28:1-10)

After the Sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre. And suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, his robe white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead and see, he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” Look! I have told you.’ They came quickly away from the tomb, filled with awe and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

And see, coming to meet them, was Jesus, saying, ‘Greetings!’ And the women came up to him and, clasping his feet, they worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; there they will see me.’

The proclamation of the gospel at the Easter Vigil is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word. This is truly the ‘night of salvation’. While John’s account of the discovery of the empty tomb, in which Mary of Magdala becomes a messenger for the apostles, is read on Easter morning, the three synoptic gospels take turns at the Vigil Mass. In each gospel a messenger, or two in the case of Luke, announces the Easter kerygma ‘he has been raised’ (egerthe). While in Mark and Luke the women simply discover that the stone closing the tomb has been rolled away, Matthew dramatizes events with a great earthquake and the descent of ‘an angel of the Lord’ who rolls back the stone and sits on it. As he did at the moment of the death of Jesus this evangelist introduces features of apocalyptic drama to underline the significance of these events. Uniquely too, the passage concludes with Jesus himself coming to greet the women, who grasp his feet and ‘worship’ him, just as the Gentile wise men had done at the start of the gospel (2:18).

Epistle

A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (6:3-11)

Do you not realise that we who were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into his death? So by baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too should live in newness of life. If we have become united to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be united by a resurrection like his, in the knowledge that our former self was crucified with him so that the self of sin should be set aside, so that we should no longer be enslaved to sin. For someone who has died has been justified from sin.

But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall live with him too, knowing that Christ once raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin, once and for all, and the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, you must reckon yourselves dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

Paul is clear that sin and death came into the world through human fault, but that Jesus Christ brings justification and life (Rom 5:18). Access to these gifts is by baptism ‘into Christ Jesus’. For Paul this is baptism into his death so as to rise to new life. The ‘old humanity’ is crucified and is no longer enslaved to sin. We are ‘justified from sin’, for, having died with him, we live with him too. Death no longer has ‘dominion’ (kyrieuein). Jesus died ‘once and for all’ (ephapax) and now he lives ‘to God’. Baptism enables us to do likewise.

Psalm 118

‘Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.’ The great hallel psalm dominates the arrival of Easter, being used also at the Easter morning Mass, on the octave day, and during the octave. ‘I shall not die, I shall live.’ ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.’

Seventh Reading

A reading from the prophet Ezekiel (36:16-17a, 18-28)

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own territory but they defiled it by their conduct and actions. I then vented my wrath on them because of the blood they shed in the land and the idols with which they defiled it. I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved. They have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, “These are the people of the Lord; they have been exiled from his land.” But I have been concerned about my holy name which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone.

‘And so, say to the House of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: I am acting not for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I am going to display the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord – declares the Lord God – when in you I display my holiness before their eyes. For I shall take you from among the nations and gather you back from all the lands and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your filth and of all your foul idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh. I shall put my spirit in you and make you keep my laws and respect and practise my judgements. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You will be my people and I shall be your God.’

The final chapters of the prophet Ezekiel look to the time beyond the exile and describe the new life brought about by God. Those familiar with these chapters might have expected Ezekiel 37, the vision of the raising of the dry bones, symbol of the restoration of Israel, to be chosen. (Ezekiel 37:1-14 was in fact included in an earlier collection of readings for the Easter Vigil.) Ezekiel 36, however, has the added dimension of interior renewal. This last reading from the Hebrew Scriptures presents the new life of the individual, which is made accessible to the believer through baptism, by which Christians share in the new life of the risen Christ.

The words of God first look back at the behaviour of the people in their own land, and how they defiled it by shedding blood and by idol worship. They were then scattered among the nations, but in those new places things got worse as the nations ridiculed the God who had not defended them, and profaned the ‘holy name’ (shem qodshi).

The actions which God proposes to take are ‘not for your sake’ but ‘for the sake of my holy name’. God is determined to display the holiness of his name, so that the nations will know that ‘I am the Lord.’ They ridiculed the God who was apparently unable to look after his people: ‘This is the people of God, and they have been exiled from their home.’ But the nations will now be struck with awe that God has never ceased caring and does in fact provide abundantly for them, both in gathering them together and renewing them inwardly.

Once gathered in their own land the people of God will be cleansed with water, and rid of their ‘filth’ and ‘foul idols’. This enables God to give them a ‘new heart’ (leb hadash)and a ‘new spirit’ (ruah hadashah). A heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh. The symbolism of a stone heart reflects the absolute necessity of God intervening dramatically and urgently to remove a dead heart and replace it with something new, for stone suggests a complete lack of life and growth. The spirit given them is the principle of new life, and means that they obey God’s laws and respect God’s judgements. After the trauma of exile the relationship is healed, and God reaffirms the covenant, so often undermined, with the people: ‘You will be my people, and I shall be your God.’

In this ‘night of salvation’ the darkness of exile and loss gives way to new life. Inner transformation and new hope is what the Messiah achieves through his death and resurrection. The reference to cleansing water brings us to the threshold of baptism.

Psalm 42 vv. 2-3,5, 43:3-4

The yearning for new life is vividly expressed with the image of the deer thirsting for ‘running streams’. The exile thinks back to the days when the temple still stood, and the crowd entered the temple with cries of joy. ‘Light’ (’or) and ‘truth’ (’emet) are the new gifts of God, and the hope is expressed of once again reaching the ‘holy mountain’ (har qodesh) where God dwells.

Psalm 51  vv.12-15   18-19     

Psalm 51, with which Lent began, can now be used with the absolute certainty that the prayer will be heard. The ‘pure heart’ (leb tahor) is actually to be ‘created’ (bara’) by God, for hearts of stone must be replaced. A ‘spirit of strength’ (ruah nakon) is bestowed. A renewed heart and contrite spirit will be accepted by God.

Sixth Reading

A reading from the prophet Baruch (3:9-15, 32-38; 4:1-4)

Listen, Israel, to commands that bring life;
listen and learn what knowledge means.
Why, Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies,
growing old in an alien land, defiled by the dead,
reckoned with those who go down to Hades?
You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!
Had you walked in the way of God,
you would be living in peace for ever.
Learn where knowledge is,
where strength, where understanding,
and so learn where length of days is, where life,
where the light of the eyes and where peace.
But who has found her place,
who has entered her treasure houses?
But the One who knows all discovers her,
has found her by his own understanding;
he has set the earth firm for evermore
and filled it with four-footed beasts;
he sends forth the light and it goes –
he recalled it and trembling it obeyed.
The stars shone joyfully at their posts;
when he called them they answered, ‘We are here’;
they shine to delight their Creator.
He is our God, no other can compare with him.
He has uncovered the whole way of knowledge
and shown her to his servant Jacob, to Israel his beloved –
only then did she appear on earth
and live with human beings.
She is the book of God’s commandments,
the Law that stands for ever;
those who keep her shall live,
those who desert her shall die.
Turn back, Jacob, and seize her:
in her radiance make your way to light.
Do not yield your glory to another,
your privilege to an alien people.
Blessed are we, Israel:
what pleases God has been made known to us!

This exquisite poem, from the book of Baruch, is found in the Greek Bible, known as the Septuagint. It is not clear whether Greek is the original language of this poem, or whether there may be a Hebrew source. Baruch, the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah, lived many centuries before its composition, and this canonical book of Baruch is one of a collection of writings from later times attributed to him. It has been suggested that this poem originated in the second century BC, perhaps in Palestine but maybe in the Diaspora.

The passage begins with an echo of Deuteronomy 6, the prayer known as shema‘, ‘Listen, Israel!’ Those in exile are bidden to listen to ‘the commands of life’ and to ‘knowledge’. This fits with the calls to repentance found earlier in the book. The tone and the vocabulary of these verses is sapiential. It is for failing to listen that they find themselves in exile: they have forsaken ‘the spring of wisdom’ (pege tes sophias). If only they had walked in ‘the way of God’ ‘eternal peace’ would have been theirs instead of destruction and dislocation.

But a new start is possible. Pursuit of God’s gifts of knowledge, strength and understanding leads to length of days, life, the light of the eyes, and peace.

The ‘all-knowing’ God is the One who knows and bestows wisdom. God displays wisdom in the work of creation. These verses reflect the first chapter of Genesis: God arranged the firm earth, the beasts, the light, the stars, who call out ‘Here we are!’ There is none like God, who reveals ‘the whole way of knowledge’. Wisdom then ‘was seen on earth and lived with human beings’.

Wisdom is found in the ‘law which lasts for ever’ and leads to life those who grasp it. There are three imperatives addressed to those who seek life: ‘turn back’, ‘seize her’, and ‘make your way to light’. The passage ends with a beatitude ‘blessed are we’ for the Lord has bestowed such gifts. For Christians the Wisdom offered by God is the Son of God, who ‘was seen on earth and lived with human beings’. The night of salvation in the death and resurrection of Christ is the full revealing of the wisdom of God.

Psalm 19

Quite naturally, the praise of the law in the book of Baruch is followed by the section of Psalm 19 (vv.8-11) which praises the law of the Lord (torat yhwh). An extensive set of synonyms to the ‘law’ – ‘rule’, ‘precepts’, ‘command’, ‘decrees’ - is used to present the qualities of the law, accompanied by repeated use of the divine name. This law ‘is to be trusted’. This law ‘gives wisdom’. It gives ‘light to the eyes’, a concept echoed from the reading. The ‘fear of the Lord’ (yir’at yhwh), natural to anyone who treasures the law, is penultimate in this sequence, and is described as ‘holy’ and ‘lasting for ever’. The final verse breaks the rigid structure of these verses with two rich metaphors, those of gold and of honey. There is nothing more valuable than the law, and nothing rivals its taste.

Fifth Reading

A reading from the prophet Isaiah (55:1-11)

Thus says the Lord:

‘O you who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come buy and eat!
Come buy wine and milk without money, free!
Why spend money on what cannot nourish
and your earnings on what fails to satisfy?
Listen carefully to me:
have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy.
Pay attention, come to me; listen, and you will live.
I shall make an everlasting covenant with you –
the mercies of my steadfast love for David.
Look, I have put him as a witness to peoples,
a leader and lawgiver to peoples.
Look, you will summon a nation unknown to you;
nations unknown to you will hurry to you
for the sake of the Lord your God
because the Holy One of Israel has made you glorious.
Seek the Lord while he is to be found,
call to him while he is near.
Let the wicked abandon their ways
and the sinful their thoughts.
Let them turn back to the Lord
that he may have mercy on them,
to our God, for he is rich in forgiveness.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts
and your ways are not my ways – declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are high above earth
so are my ways above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.
For as the rain and the snow come down from the sky
and do not return before watering the earth,
fertilising it and making it germinate
to provide seed for the sower and food to eat,
so it is with the word that goes forth from my mouth:
it does not return to me unfulfilled
or before carrying out my purpose
and achieving what it was sent to do.

The new life promised to the beloved wife is offered to the children too. Just as the thirsty people leaving Egypt received water from the rock, so the thirsty ones now leaving Babylon are offered water. Just as the people in the desert were given the bread called manna, so those leaving Babylon are challenged: ‘why spend money on what is not bread (belo’ lehem)?’ Even lacking money they are urged to ‘buy and eat’, for no-one is to miss out in God’s new world.

The solemn promise of an ‘everlasting covenant’ (berit ‘olam) takes further the ‘covenant of peace’ already promised (Isaiah 54). The ‘mercies’ of God’s love for David are the model. They are to be a witness, a leader, a lawgiver. Nations are then brought forward: the single nation Persia, by whom the people will be freed; and the many nations unknown who will be attracted to the Lord who has made his people ‘glorious’.

The passage ends with what seem sapiential additions. ‘Seek the Lord while he is near.’ Let the wicked turn back to the Lord, who once more is described as merciful and forgiving. The ‘thoughts’ (mahshebot), and the ‘ways’ (derakim), of God are different. The ‘word’ (dabar) of God is compared to the rain and snow which water the earth and achieve their purpose. We are urged to overcome our limited horizons to enter the horizon of God.

God’s promises are fulfilled in the journey of the people into freedom, in the passage from the night of salvation to the light of new life, and in the emergence from death to life of the Lord Jesus Christ.  ‘Come and have breakfast!’ says the Risen Jesus (John 21:12). On this night the free gift of water is present in Baptism, and freely-given bread in the Eucharist.

Isaiah 12

This canticle, with its words ‘joyfully you will draw water from the springs of salvation’, echoes the invitation of Isaiah 55. It is inspired by the song in Exodus 15 addressing God in a similar way as ‘my strength’, ‘my song’, ‘my salvation’.

The canticle continues with multiple imperatives. The deeds of the Lord must be made known ‘among the peoples’. Over the ‘whole earth’ God’s ‘glorious deeds’ are proclaimed.

Fourth Reading

A reading from the prophet Isaiah (54:5-14)

Thus says the Lord:

‘Your creator is your husband,
the Lord Sabaoth is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer,
he is called God of all the earth.
For like a wife forsaken and sad at heart,
the Lord has called you back;
like the young wife repudiated, says your God.
I did forsake you for a brief moment,
but in great compassion I shall take you back.
In a flood of anger,
for a moment I hid my face from you
but in everlasting love I have taken pity on you,’
says the Lord, your redeemer.
‘This will be to me as it was in the days of Noah
when I swore that Noah’s floodwaters
should never again cover the earth.
So now I swear never to be angry with you
and never to rebuke you.
The mountains may depart and the hills may be shaken
but my faithful love will never leave you,
my covenant of peace will never be shaken,’
says the Lord in his pity for you.
‘Unhappy city, storm-tossed, unpitied,
look, I shall lay your stones with fine mortar
and your foundations on sapphires.
I shall make your battlements rubies,
your gateways firestone and your enclosure precious stones.
All your children will be taught by the Lord
and great will be your children’s prosperity.
You will be established in saving justice,
far removed from oppression.
You will have nothing to fear:
free from terror, for it will not approach you.’

The fourth ‘night of salvation’ as presented in the Targum Jonathan is the night of the Messiah. In the current arrangement of the Easter Vigil readings, the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh have something to say about the ‘fourth night’, about the future hope, and Christians see how it is realised in Christ.

This reading from the Second Isaiah, composed against the backdrop of the return from exile in Babylon, takes up the familiar image of Israel as the spouse of the Lord. The one rejected and abandoned for her infidelity has been welcomed home by the Lord, who is her ‘husband’, her ‘maker’, her ‘redeemer’, who buys her freedom. The prophet exults in the names of God.

The Lord admits to having forsaken her, but only ‘for a moment’. She has been regathered in great ‘compassion’ (rahamim). After fleeting anger (Ps 30:6), she has been pitied in ‘everlasting love’ (hesed ‘olam). The prophet exults in the tenderness of God, by which God takes her back.

God renews the oath, an oath which recalls that made with Noah. Though the creation, the mountains and hills, may collapse, ‘my faithful love’ (hasdi) and ‘my covenant of peace’ (berit shelomi) will stand for ever. God is the one who has compassion.

The final section addresses the people as the city of Sion with foundations and battlements. Metaphors of precious stones such as sapphires and rubies, evocative of wedding presents, announce a new start. Her sons and daughters will be taught by God, and their ‘peace’ (shalom)  will be great. For they will be established in ‘justice’ (tsedeq). The eternal love of God brings salvation, a future of peace and justice.

Psalm 30 (29)

This psalm uses the imagery of resurrection. The first of the verses selected for use here speaks to God: ‘you have raised me up’. God has reached down to raise us up, like a bucket of water from a well.  ‘Sheol’  and the ‘pit’ are not the destination of those who love God. God’s anger is momentary, life-long is God’s favour. It was evening, and then morning. This ‘night of salvation’, filled with tears, leads to the morning of joy. The Lord who listened to the people in exile is shown to be a God of pity in the life of this person. Mourning is changed to dancing, and sackcloth exchanged for joy. The psalmist’s words ‘I will thank you for ever’ will become the words of the Risen Christ, and of baptised Christians.

Third Reading

A reading from the book of Exodus (14:15-15:1)

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. You are to raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground, while I, for my part, shall harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will follow them, and I shall win glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, chariots and horsemen. And when I win glory for myself over Pharaoh and his chariots and horsemen, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.’

Then the angel of God, who was going before the army of Israel, changed station and followed behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from their front and took up position behind them. It came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the one drawing any closer to the other the whole night long.  Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back with a strong easterly wind all night and made the sea into dry land. The waters were divided and the Israelites went on dry ground right through the sea, with walls of water to the right and left of them. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea after them. In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud and threw the Egyptian army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly make progress. So the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters flow back on the Egyptians and on their chariots and their horsemen.’ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its normal state. The fleeing Egyptians ran straight into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh’s entire army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. The Israelites, however, had marched through the sea on dry ground, and the waters formed a wall to the right and to the left of them. That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the mighty deed that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, the people revered the Lord and put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord.

This text, with the canticle which follows directly in chapter 15, is the  conclusion of the story of the ten plagues and the permission given by Pharaoh to let the people go. Though liberated from Egypt, they are now trapped between the Sea and the pursuing Egyptians, for Pharaoh’s heart has been hardened again. When they complain bitterly to Moses, he reassures them. The Lord will intervene and be ‘glorified’, and the Egyptians will come to know the Lord.

The two speeches of God in this passage, which is the high point of this great story of liberation, contain two commands to Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea. The pillar of cloud, representing the presence of God, stands between Israelites and Egyptians. The power of the staff of Moses separating the waters is accompanied by a wind (ruah) from the Lord (cf. Gen 1:2), which turns the sea into dry ground and creates ‘walls of water’ on each side. A dramatic night of salvation is followed by the morning when the Lord impedes the Egyptians’ pursuit. The second command that Moses should stretch out his staff brings the waters back to drown the Egyptian army.

As the text draws to an end, we are told that, when the people saw the mighty ‘hand’ by which God had ‘saved’ them, they ‘feared’ (yara’) and they ‘believed’ (’aman) in God and in Moses. The verb ’aman is used to speak of Abraham, who ‘believed in God’ (Gen 15:6). It is the people who now accept that their one support is the Lord, for this is what biblical faith is.

Whatever the reality and the causality of the crossing of the ‘Sea of Reeds’, which may well have been a tragic accident caused when the army of Egypt risked crossing swampy ground, it forms the heart of an epic story of God’s liberation. This text narrates the primary ‘night of salvation’, on the basis of which Targum Jonathan’s reflection on the ‘four nights’ developed.

For Paul it is an image of baptism with its transition from the dark waters of death to the light of life: ‘Our ancestors passed through the sea. All were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.’ (1 Cor 10:1-2). The exodus prefigures salvation in Christian catechesis. A new people emerges from the waters of baptism.

Exodus 15   

This ancient ‘song’ naturally serves as a response to the reading, and expresses the joy of the people and the glory of God, who is described, not only as ‘my strength’, ‘my song’, and ‘my salvation’, but also as ‘man of war’, who hurled Pharaoh’s forces into the sea. The image of a violent and xenophobic god will evolve in time into a loving God who gathers humanity together. The concluding verses of the song strike the positive tone of reaching the ‘mountain of your possession’, the ‘place of your dwelling’, and the ‘sanctuary your hands made’. The true destination of the journey is the place where God is to be found by all.

Second Reading

A reading from the book of Genesis (22:1-18)

It happened some time later that God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ he called. ‘Here I am,’ he replied. God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and there you shall offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out to you.’

Early next morning Abraham saddled his donkey and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place that God had indicated to him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there; we shall worship and then come back to you.’ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, loaded it on his son Isaac, and in his own hands carried the fire and the knife. Then the two of them set out together. Isaac spoke to his father Abraham, saying, ‘Father’. He replied, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘Look, here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ Abraham replied, ‘My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.’ And the two of them went on together.

When they arrived at the place that God had indicated to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ he replied. He said, ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy or do anything to him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your own beloved son.’ Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham called this place ‘The Lord provides’, hence the saying today: ‘On the mountain the Lord provides.’

The angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven. ‘I swear by my own self, the Lord declares, that because you have done this, because you have not refused me your own beloved son, I will shower blessings on you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed my command.’

This uncomfortable reading actually provides reassurance to the listener in its opening words: ‘God put Abraham to the test’. God commands Abraham to take his son to the mountain of sacrifice. The voice is insistent: ‘your son’, ‘your only son’, ‘the one you love’, ‘Isaac’. The command, apparently given at night, is followed ‘early next morning’ by Abraham’s obedience, narrated in some detail. Two servants accompany the father and the son. After three days they arrive at their destination.

Abraham and Isaac leave the servants and continue, Isaac carrying the wood, as Jesus will carry his cross. Isaac enquires about the offering, and is told that God ‘will provide’. Abraham’s fundamental attitude is to trust, but the tension increases. On arrival at the place of sacrifice Abraham lays out the wood, and then ‘binds’ (‘aqad) his son. The story will be known as the ‘aqedah, the ‘binding’ of Isaac. The narrator tells how Abraham reaches out to ‘slaughter’ his son, employing a term used for animal sacrifice in Leviticus 4.

The call from heaven ‘Abraham, Abraham’ relieves the tension. Abraham was right to trust. The speech stresses that he is willing to give back his son, his ‘only’ son, the son of the promise so long awaited by Abraham and Sarah. In a further speech of God’s messenger the promise already made (Genesis 12 and 15) is renewed. God has seen, and God has provided a solution. The name given to the mountain, Moriah, stresses both sight and provision.

In verse 19 (not included in the reading) Abraham returns to where the boys are waiting. Abraham  has been tested and has trusted. He has fulfilled his confident earlier promise to the boys, ‘we will sacrifice and we will return’. Isaac is no longer named. He is unbound, no longer tied by his father. He is free.

This second ‘night of salvation’ prepares for the free self-offering of the Son, whose resurrection we celebrate. Jesus provides a sublime example of trust in God. He faces the test. Life, not death, triumphs.

Psalm 16 (15)  This psalm expresses trust in the Lord in the face of death, and fittingly follows the story of the Binding of Isaac. God will not abandon the psalmist’s life to Sheol, nor let his ‘holy one’ (hasid) see the ‘pit’. Rather, God will reveal the path of life, and the fulness of joy. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke has both Peter, in the Pentecost sermon, (2:25-28), and Paul, preaching in Antioch, (13:35), apply this psalm to Jesus.

First Reading

A reading from the book of Genesis (1:1-2:2)

In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with the spirit of God sweeping over the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God separated light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. And there was evening and morning, the first day.

God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was. God made the dome, and it divided the waters under the dome from the waters above the dome. God called the dome ‘sky’. And there was evening and morning, the second day.

God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good. God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on earth, each bearing fruit of its own kind within it.’ And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: the various kinds of seed-bearing plants and the fruit trees, each bearing fruit of its own kind within it. God saw that it was good. And there was evening and morning, the third day.

God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of heaven to separate day from night, and let them be signs for festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the dome of heaven to give light on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars. God set them in the dome of heaven to give light on the earth, to rule the day and the night and to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good. And there was evening and morning, the fourth day.

God said, ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds wing their way above the earth across the dome of heaven.’ And so it was. God created great sea monsters and all the creatures of every kind that glide and teem in the waters, and winged birds of every kind. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply on land.’ And there was evening and morning, the fifth day.

God said, ‘Let the earth produce living creatures of every kind: cattle, creeping things and wild animals of every kind.’ And so it was. God made wild animals in their own kind, and cattle in theirs, and all the creatures that creep along the earth in their own kind. God saw that it was good. God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the earth.’

God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the creatures that creep along the earth.’ God also said, ‘Look, to you I give all the seed-bearing plants on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this will be your food. And to all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the plants as their food.’ And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. And there was evening and morning, the sixth day.

Thus heaven and earth were completed and all their array. On the seventh day God had completed the work he had done. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing.

This first reading takes us back to the ‘beginning’ (re’shith), and focusses on God and on creation. The first verse solemnly opens the Scriptures with the reference to God, who ‘created heaven and earth’. The text proceeds to describe what existed before God intervened. So, in this text, there is no sense of creation ‘out of nothing’. The earth was a ‘formless void’ (in Hebrew tohu wabohu). There was a threatening darkness over the deep, for light had not yet been created. The third element, in Hebrew ruah ’elohim, is a ‘wind from God’ (NRSV), nicely translated in NAB as ‘a mighty wind’. This is similar to the ‘wind’ God sends after the flood in Gen 8:1. There is no reference to the Spirit here. The first intervention of God is to ‘speak’, when God says ‘Let there be light’. Light conquers darkness. God’s speaking punctuates the whole passage. This is creation by the word of the living God.

Other actions of God are woven in to the passage: ‘separating’, ‘making’, ‘creating’, ‘setting’, ‘naming’ and ‘blessing’. This anthropological richness honours the multiform wisdom and power of God. The reading covers the six days of creation, with the sixth day reporting both the creation of the animals, and that of human beings. The human being (’adam) is differentiated as man and woman. This climax of creation is celebrated in three lines of poetry, with the word ‘create’ (bara’) in each.

The whole narrative is punctuated by the statement that ‘God saw that it was good (tob)’, and, in the case of human beings, ‘that it was very good (tob me‘od)’. On the seventh day, the sabbath (shabbat), God ‘rested’. It will be this verse of Genesis which gives the motivation for the observance of the Sabbath in the Exodus 20 version of the Ten Commandments.

The transition from darkness to light, from chaos to order, the transition into the fulness of God’s world, sets the template for the readings to come, and for the whole of the Easter celebration. This is the first ‘night of salvation’ in the Targum of Jonathan on Exodus (see Introduction).

Psalm 104 (103) is a parallel text to Genesis 1. Both are hymnic celebrations of the immense scope of God’s creative work. There are repeated echoes of Genesis 1: light (’or), the deep (tehom), the waters, the birds of heaven, plants, animals and  human beings.

Psalm 33 (32)  This alternative psalm puts the emphasis on God’s ‘word’ (dabar), which is ‘faithful’ (yashar), and by which God made the heavens. Echoes of Genesis 1 include the ‘hosts’ (tseba’ot) of heaven, the seas, and the deep. God’s people are blessed, for God’s love (hesed) fills the earth.