Paschal Vigil 2023
In the beginning was the water. No, I am wrong; I should say: In the beginning were the waters, for, as soon as there was light, everyone could see that there was water everywhere. There was indeed too much water. Someone had to put things right. This was the work of the second day: “God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament”. This was a good beginning, but there was still more to be done. This called for another day. So, God, on the third day, ordered ‘the waters under the heavens [to] be gathered together into one place’. Now at last things became clear: you had the earth, the sea, and the heaven, each at its proper place.
As we know too well, this beautiful order did not last very long. In the days of Noah, there was the flood: much water; an ecological disaster which originated from the sinful heart of men and God’s consequent wrath. Out of mercy, though, God changed His mind: “I swore that the waters of Noah should not more go over the earth”, and we can say that, on the whole, God has been faithful to His oath.
Then, when Israel was going out of Egypt on his way toward the land of freedom and peace, the people were confronted with what, for the Hebrews of old, was a dangerous world: the sea. It was Moses, that time, who had to stretch out his hand over the sea. In answer to his faith, “the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left”. Just as the earth appeared out of water, the new earth where freedom reigned, the Land of Promise, was only entered through the water.
We are now convinced that the waters are something very bad. The sooner we are out of the water, the better and the safer! – Well, maybe, but let us listen to Isaiah: “Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters”; and to Ezekiel: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.” Obviously, there is water and water. Some water drowns you, but other cleans you, and even feeds you. Some water brings death while other gives life.
What about the water of our baptism? Is it bad or good? Well, the answer is, ‘Both’, really. When you go down into the baptismal font, all that is dirty in your soul is washed; all that is sinful is destroyed; all that belongs to the world of old is put to death. A pure water is sprinkled upon you. A living water is given to your soul. You are made clean within and without. You drink a new Spirit, you breathe a new air, you are a new creature. Moreover, you become a well-spring. The water which Jesus, our risen Lord, gives to you becomes in you “a spring of water welling up in eternal life”.
This is our story, dear sisters and brothers. We have been born again in Baptism from the water and the Spirit. In our walk through the desert of this present life towards the City of God, we are refreshed by the water of the Spirit which the Word of God and the Sacraments of the Church generously provide us with. We are constantly sprinkled by the water of purification. Even our tears, the silent tears of our hearts, can become a source of purity and regeneration. We are quenched by the water of eternal life, and we swim in the ocean of Divine Mercy.
So, if on this Easter celebration, we wish to meet with Christ, risen from the dead – or rather to be met by Him – let us go to the water. Let us stand near the pierced side of our crucified Lord from which blood and water come out. Let rest by the river of life. Let us draw water with joy from the well of salvation. We shall see the world in a new and divine light, our hearts will be filled with joy, and we shall sing Alleluia in exultant praise. Amen.
Abbot Xavier