Getting Connected

Holy Saturday | The Vigil of Easter
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

One of the psalms in tonight’s beautiful vigil of Easter liturgy starts out this way: Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God. What deep desire these words express! All of us long to be with God—at least ultimately! We’ve come here tonight, on this most holy of nights, to celebrate that desire.

Has this ever happened to you? You’re driving along and talking on your cell phone to someone you love, and then you hit a black hole and your call gets dropped. One of you has to call the other one back… then ask what happened… laugh a little… then try to pick up the conversation where you left off.

In some ways, that same pattern describes our connection with God.

From the moment we came into existence, we have been connected to Almighty God. He gave us flesh through our parents, and their parents, and their parents before them—and then going all the way back to Adam and Eve. We’re also connected to him spiritually, through our soul, which God individually and with tender love gave us and united to our body. And it is this very soul that reaches out to the Lord. My soul longs for you, my God.

You can almost picture God’s enormous, heavenly switchboard with one set of wires connecting to every person who ever lived.

But then sin entered the world, and boy, did service get interrupted! Our previously close relationship with God was replaced by silence—dead air… a dropped connection. And man knew instantly that he had been cut off. More than anything, we wanted to be reconnected to him… and God wanted the same thing.

And so, the Lord set into motion a marvelous plan to help us get reconnected. He gave us faith-filled patriarchs starting with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He gave us victory and freedom from the slavery of Pharaoh under the leadership of Moses. He gave us the promise of a Messiah through the prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel.

And then, in the fullness of time, he gave us his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who taught us, then suffered and died on the cross, and finally rose triumphantly, to reestablish that long-lost connection and make it forever complete and unbreakable. Each of us is invited to share in that connection. Picture Jesus as the Master Splicer who hooks us back up, one by one.

The reconnection is made through the sacrament of baptism. When we present ourselves to be baptized, Christ asks us: “Do you want to be connected?” We must say “yes”—or our parents answer for us if we’re too little to speak. In just a little while, we’ll all have the opportunity to renew our baptismal promises and our “yes.” We’ll celebrate that we’re connected for all eternity to God, not just as creatures but as family: his own adopted sons and daughters. Then every time we receive Holy Communion, we celebrate our permanent union and covenant with the Lord.

While the connection is permanent, we sometimes loosen it. That’s what happens when we sin. And that’s why tonight is the perfect time to ask ourselves if there’s any static on the line… if our divine connection is loose.

My soul longs for you, my God. Yes, these are our words, too. We see how much we need God to guide us, help us, and show us the way past the bumps and bruises of life. We can’t do it without God. Life is just too hard.

Well, God longs for us, too! Remember, we’re his children. Even if we’ve strayed some, he doesn’t love us any the less.

If you think you might be somewhat disconnected from God, just pray. Talk to God. Tell him that you need his help and support in your life. Tell him in detail what you’d like for him to do for you. Keep pestering him in your prayer.

If it’s somebody special who seems to be disconnected—a child, a spouse, a dear friend or relative—intercede for them with God. Jump in with prayers asking God to touch their heart and draw them to himself.

I make you a very cool promise: when you’re connected to God through frequent prayer, you will begin to change and life will get better. Maybe not all at once—but soon. You will become what you pray you’ll become. And that’s one of the awesome mysteries of Easter and the Resurrection—being reborn in a glorious new way.

Tomorrow, when you celebrate Easter with your family and friends and they ask you what happened tonight, you can say that God let you in on the amazing power and majesty of the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ, his Son.

You can say that a deep longing and desire for God was satisfied.

Or you can simply say: I got connected.

May our Risen Lord reach out this very night and touch your heart and bless you with his infinite love. Amen! Alleluia.