"Thus the shift from Good Friday to Easter must be two things at once..."

Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar on the readings for Easter Vigil:

1. With Jesus' death the word of God ends. In the weariness of Mary, pierced by every possible sword of suffering, the Church mutely holds vigil at the grave. All living faith, all living hope is deposited with God. No premature Alleluia sounds. The watching and waiting Church takes the time to recall the long path through all stages of salvation history that God has followed with his people since the creation of the world: seven events unfold before the Church's spiritual eyes. She sees salvation even in the most difficult of all events: in Abraham's sacrifice, in the narrow escape across the divided sea, in the homecoming from exile. And she understands that they were nothing but occurrences of grace. The sacrifice of Isaac ultimately confirmed both Abraham's obedience and God's promise; apparent submersion in the sea proved to be Israel's salvation and the burial of its enemies; exile itself was Israel's lengthy purification and return to God.

2. Thus, in the second reading, the Church recognizes that her own death in baptism is a dying with Jesus, a dying into eternal salvation in him, a dying into resurrection with him toward God, into a new sinless and deathless life. No mere ceremony can accomplish this miracle; only a genuine "co-crucifixion" with Christ of the old, sinful man, a co-crucifixion that permits a co-dying and co-burial to take place, can accomplish this. This is essentially a gift given by God to the person baptIzed, a gift that is also a lifelong challenge to make the gift come true in the Christian's existence. The two belong inseparably together if the gift given in Christ is to prevail in the Christian's life: he must become what he is, he must unfold what he has. Thus the shift from Good Friday to Easter must be two things at once: joy at the most sublime gift and determination to keep one's baptismal promises. It is fitting to renew these promises while celebrating the Easter Vigil.

From Light of the Word: Brief Reflections on the Sunday Readings (Ignatius Press, 1993), pp. 69-70.