Easter Vigil: His love has made it easy.

As we begin the celebration of the first Eucharist of Easter, we do so with the ringing of bells and songs and shouts of freedom that have been suppressed throughout our Lenten pilgrimage.

This always reminds me of an Easter sequence that's often sung with Alleluias and the joyful ringing of bells. Translated into English, it goes like this: The stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the tomb. Whom do you seek, woman, the living among the dead? Do not weep, Mary, the Lord is risen.

The ringing of bells in Easter season also calls to mind a powerful meditation from Thomas Merton on the meaning of Church bells:

Bells are meant to remind us that God alone is good, that we belong to Him, that we are not living for this world. They break in upon our cares in order to remind us that all things pass away and that our preoccupations are not important. They speak to us of our freedom, which responsibilities and transient cares make us forget.

They are the voice of our alliance with the God of heaven. They call us to peace with Him within ourselves...The bells say: we have spoken for centuries from the towers of great churches. We have spoken to the saints your fathers, in their land. We called them, as we call you, to sanctity.

What is the word with which we called them? We did not merely say, "Be good, come to church." We did not merely say "Keep the commandments" but above all, "CHRIST IS RISEN. CHRIST IS RISEN!" And we said: "Come with us. God is good. Salvation is not hard. His love has made it easy!"

For Merton, bells speak to us of God's mercy. Salvation is as easy as Jesus standing alive in the midst of his disciples. As easy as his body pressed into our eager, outstretched hands.

A similar vision is present in the paschal homily of St. John Chrysostom, which is customarily read in Eastern Orthodox Churches on this most holy night. Chrysostom describes the Easter feast in terms borrowed from the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, all of whom (contrary to strict justice) receive the same wage for different amounts of work. After rehearsing the rewards that await those who have labored throughout the day, including those who have skated in at the last possible minute, Chrysostom goes on to allude to the Prodigal Son:

Wherefore, let all of you enter into the joy of your Lord;
Receive your reward,
Both the first, and likewise the second.
You rich and poor together, hold high festival!
You sober and you heedless, honor the day!
Rejoice today, both you who have fasted
And you who have disregarded the fast.
The table is full-laden; let all of you feast sumptuously.
The calf is fatted; let no one go away hungry.

What, we might ask, is the source of this wide open mercy? What is responsible for this lavish abundance? It is Christ, who suffered and died. Who suffered and died, and rose again. He is the lamb that God provides. He is the One who feeds us with his own flesh. He is the One who nurses us with his very own blood. Thus, Mother Church, singing to God on this blessed night, confesses that "To redeem a slave, you gave a Son."

In ancient icons of the resurrection, Christ is shown standing on the broken gates of hell, leading Adam and Eve--and, with them, the whole human race--into paradise.

Salvation is indeed easy--for us but not for him. Jesus goes before us to lead the way. He fought the fight. He won the battle. And his body bears the scars.

But, by the agony of his passion, a new creation is born. By the rolling away of the stone, a new day dawns. The world is now ablaze with his new fire. And, in its light, love triumphs over fear, goodness over evil, life over death. For he has flung wide the gates of paradise. And nothing—no, not even death itself—can shut him in or hold him down.

That brings us back to Chrysostom, who concludes his homily as follows:

O Death, where is your sting?
O Hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns!
Christ is risen, and not one dead person remains in the grave.
For Christ, being raised from the dead,
Has become the first-fruits of those who sleep.

To him be glory and dominion
For ever and ever.

Amen.