08

Easter Vigil / Holy Saturday – Year A

甲年，圣周六，复活前夕

Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF

甘天霖神父

Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10 （玛窦福音28：1-10）

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just 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 he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you." Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

Homily: Do not Look for the Living among the Dead

The closed tomb stood for an apparent victory of the wicked. The wicked thought that they had fought the righteous and managed to prevail. They believed that they had silenced him forever. The huge boulder, placed in front of the tomb, and a picket of guards watching over it symbolize the victory of death over life, of impiety over righteousness, and hatred over love.

Faced with this tragedy, one wonders, “Will the darkness and the silence of the grave extinguish forever even the memory of the righteous, while those who killed him mockingly laugh?” At dawn on Easter Sunday, God responded to this anguished question. In a flash of light, he ignited his life-giving power because he could not allow the Holy and Righteous One to remain in the power of death.

The angel of the Lord sitting on the stone recalls the gesture of the warrior who celebrates his victory by sitting proudly on the rampart on the city he conquered. Matthew uses this war image to vividly depict the triumph of the Lord over death, the terrible enemy that has always terrified humanity.

After the defeat of death, the persons who have concluded their earthly life are not to be found in a grave but in the Father’s house. The angel of the Lord sends the women, “Go at once and tell the disciples that he is risen from the dead. This is my message for you.” It is not an easy mission because one who announces the Living One runs the risk of not being believed, or even of being laughed at. Only those who have made the intimate experience of a personal encounter with the Risen One have the courage to announce to all.

The women—a symbol of the community—are reassured, “Do not be afraid!” Those who love life need not fear the upsetting interventions of God. He comes to remove all the rocks that sin has placed to protect Death. It is an invitation to all to grow in the certainty of the victory of life: never will a righteous person be abandoned; each tomb, like that of Jesus, will be empty. The forces of death (injustice, oppression, slander, hatred, deceit, cunning…) will not prevail even if, apparently, for a time, they will appear to have the upper hand.

Faced with the great scene of Easter, all the losses and all the tears of the righteous of all times make sense.

The women hastily abandoned the place of death and rush to announce to the brothers that Christ is alive. Faced with the same event, the guards do the opposite: they let themselves be corrupted by money. They are the symbol of those who, even today, for the sake of some material advantage resign themselves to compromise. They prefer the lie to the truth, take sides with the powers that be and cooperate with them in an attempt to perpetuate the reign of injustice.

It is true that after Easter people continue to die as before. However, now they know that they will not remain in death, and this is not to die. They know that life has a goal—that is not the night of the grave but the heavenly light, and that humanity has a destiny: the endless celebration.

证道：不要在死人中找活人，信祂的人永远不死！

在那里，封闭的坟墓是恶人表面的胜利。恶人认为自己与义人战斗，并取得了胜利。他们相信能够让耶稣永远沉默不语。墓前的巨石和守卫的警戒线象征着：死亡战胜了生命，不虔敬胜过了义德，仇恨战胜了爱。

面对这个悲剧，我们惊奇的是：尽管当时那些杀害他的人嘲笑他，难道坟墓的黑暗和沉寂至于要把义人的记忆都永远消灭吗？复活主日的黎明之际，天主回应了这个极度痛苦的问题。在一道闪光中，引爆了他给予生命的力量，因为他绝不能允许神圣和正义的那位留在死亡的控制下。

 上主的天使坐在石头上，让人想起勇士庆祝胜利时骄傲地坐在他征服城市的城墙上的姿势。玛窦运用这个战争的图像来生动描绘上主越过死亡的胜利，这可怕的敌人（死亡）一直令人惧怕不易。

 在战胜了死亡之后，那些结束尘世生民的人就不会再停留在坟墓里了，而是住在了天父的房子里。上主的天使派遣那位妇人：“快去对他的门徒说：他已经由死者中复活了。这是为你们的讯息”。这并不是一件轻松的使命，因为宣告复活永生的那位，要冒着不被人相信，甚至被人嘲笑的风险。只有那些亲身与复活的那位有个人亲密相遇经验的人，才会有勇气向人宣告。

 那位妇人——象征着一个团体——得以安心：“不要害怕！”那些热爱生命的人不需要惧怕天主那令人苦恼的干预。他来移除所有的石头，那是罪恶放在那里保护死亡的石头。这是向所有人发出的邀请，在生命获胜的必然信念中成长：绝对不会有一个义人会被抛弃；每个坟墓，都将如同耶稣的坟墓一样，成为空的。死亡的势力（不义、压迫、诽谤、憎恨、欺骗、诡诈等等）即使会在一段时间显然占据上风，但终将不能得逞。

面对复活节的大场面，古往今来义人的所有损失和眼泪都是有意义的。

 这妇人匆忙地逃离死亡之地，赶紧向兄弟们宣告基督已经复活了。面对这同一个事件，卫兵做相反的事：让自己被金钱所腐化。即使在今天，他们也象征着那些为了一位物质的利益，放弃自我屈服妥协的人。他们更喜欢谎言胜过真理，站在权势的一边，与权势合作，企图持续不公正的统治。

的确，复活节之后，人们还会像以前一样死去。然而，现在他们知道：自己不会留在死亡中了：这就不是去死了。他们知道：生命有自己的目标——不是坟墓的黑夜，而是天上的光明——人有自己的天意：（天国）永久不休止的庆典。