The Easter Vigil
April 4, 2026
Year A: Matthew 28: 1-10
Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church, NLR
Michael Mitchell
We have come tonight at this moment, The Great Easter Vigil, because Jesus, who had been killed, has come back to life. God has Resurrected his Son, and because of this fact, we have been brought into the presence of God, and through Jesus, we have become aware that God loves us, and with grace, restores to us our ability to hope; we are no longer alone.
Two women have witnessed the arrest, torture, crucifixion, and burial of their teacher, leader, and the center of their world. It’s all gone. They are now traumatized, grieving, confused, hopeless. They have risked coming out of hiding, while the disciples are still hiding in seclusion to avoid the Jewish authorities. The women have come to the grave where it all ended. What they found they did not expect. Suddenly comes a great earthquake and the appearance of an angel rolling back the stone of the tomb. The tomb is open and empty. ((What would you or I be feeling right now at the tomb?)) The guards at the tomb faint with fear, maybe dead. The women no doubt are terrified, which the angel notices and says to them, “do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised.” Then he gives them time to take it in. He shows them the place where Jesus had been laid, the burial clothes Jesus had been buried in, neatly folded. He tells the women Jesus is going to Galilee and that they are to tell the disciples to go there, and that Jesus will appear to them there. Now Matthew tells us the women experience “fear and great joy,” both emotions at the same time.
Two women, Mary Mag-da-lene and another Mary (whom Luke and Mark identify as Mary the mother of James), hurry to tell the disciples. But, before they even get out of the garden, they run into Jesus! They fall to the ground and hold on to Jesus’ feet. He isn’t a figment of their imagination or a ghost. They can touch him. He has substance.
What is the first thing Jesus does? He addresses their trauma and fear. “Greetings….Do not be afraid.” The commentator Melinda Quivik says the Greek word used here, “chairete,” is like saying “hello” or “good morning” to family members or friends. Jesus is putting the women at ease as he in very familiar fashion refers to them as his friends in this greeting.1 He refers to his disciples as his brothers, not his students or followers or disciples. Now they are his brothers. To the women, he says, go tell his “brothers” what has happened, that he wants them to meet him in Galilee, where they will see him just as the women are now. Galilee, where they have spent all their time together as he taught people about the ways of God and healed people. “I will meet you at home.”
Trauma, grief, fear, confusion, hopelessness. Jesus addresses their fear and pain. They and all his disciples, and his mother, have all suffered as they saw him suffer. All their hope was lost. At his every resurrected appearance, Jesus addresses his followers’ traumatized emotions. His very presence and kind, understanding voice reassures and heals them. He is alive, and so are they. All is not lost; he has not left them. New life has just begun.
Fr. Thomas Keating, writer-teacher in Centering Prayer, says we all carry traumas—some small, some large—much of it from childhood just from the normal experiences of growing up, and in daily life events as adults. Right now, even watching the news can traumatize us. [[Have you ever been talking with someone, they say something that suddenly causes you to feel anxious, angry, or overwhelmed? But not because they said anything wrong; you don’t even know why you are reacting the way you are. We call that a “trigger.” You are now in touch with the hurt and trauma Fr. Keating is talking about.]]] We learned early in life ways to cope with negative experiences and learned how to protect ourselves; we still use them. These coping strategies often hinder our ability to openly relate to one another, and our ability to experience God’s presence, love and grace is compromised. From the world of psychotherapy, we know that severe trauma can create PTSD and severely compromise our emotions and coping. Jesus’ followers, and these two women, were exposed to that kind of trauma, and if Jesus had not intervened, it could have severely crippled their ability to manage life. Fr. Keating says it’s this sometimes small, sometimes crippling injury inside of us that Jesus seeks to heal and free us for a life of love, grace and joy, to make it possible to fully love others: family, friends, even strangers, without defensiveness.
Our new life has just begun tonight, once again, as we meet the resurrected Jesus in the garden, as we meet him in the Eucharist, as we gather with one another as the Church. Tonight God makes it Easter, life giving joy and release from hopelessness and fear. We bring our life-long traumas and all the things we are afraid of, our lost dreams and lost hopes, our loneliness and disappointments, into the presence of the resurrected Jesus, God’s gift to us of love and grace; and Jesus offers to stay with us and heal us from our brokenness, and to keep us company each day of our lives. Jesus is alive and present with us!! Yes, tonight God makes it Easter, life giving joy and release from hopelessness and fear, in the presence of the resurrected Jesus Christ.
1 Melinda Quivik, “Holy Week,” New Proclamation, Year A. pp.294-296, 2008.