Church of the Good Shepherd - 4-07 Easter Vigil

April 7, 2007
The Great Vigil of Easter (Year C)

Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 136:1-9,23-26;
Genesis 7:1-5,11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13; Psalm 46;
Genesis 22:1-18; Psalm 16; Exodus 14:10-15:1; Canticle 8;
Isaiah 4:2-6; Psalm 122; Isaiah 55:1-11
Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 30; Ezekiel 36:24-28
Romans 6:3-11; Matthew 28:1-10

Rejoice now, heavenly hosts and choirs of angels
And let your trumpets shout Salvation
For the victory of our mighty king.

These opening words from the Exsultet, an ancient hymn of proclamation dating back to the fifth century, frame our worship this evening, as we kindle a new fire, a symbol of God’s creation, bringing new light, new life out of darkness. The word Exsultet literally means to leap with joy! As we gather in quiet anticipation, our hope brings the Paschal candle, to illuminate the shadows of our lives: of regret and ignorance and isolation and despair.

This is the night! At the Easter vigil we recreate the story of our faith, as we reflect on our connection to all of creation, and relive God’s unfolding revelation, the revelation that animates our lives, our hearts, our very being.

Holy Week, in its entirety, is such an important part of our journey of faith yet it is so often condensed to the Triduum (trid-u-um) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter day, by the demands of our busy, everyday lives. But not here, not in this sacred place we call home, because here in this community of Good Shepherd, we really get Holy Week! Here in this place, each of us, in our own way, has taken this journey together. And so I find I’m not quite ready to let it go. I want to hold it close for a few moments longer.

It really started last Saturday, when we gathered with other members of our deanery at Trinity Church in Concord, to witness and to welcome members of our congregation, as they took that step into mature faith through the sacrament of confirmation. And it did not come easily, but was the culmination of weeks, in some cases years of preparation, and in the midst of some unimaginable struggles. Those gathered listened as Bishop Shaw addressed the confirmands, describing all manners of evil that confront us in our daily lives, and charged them to be leaders in re-visioning what our world can be.

Palm Sunday brought a feast of excitement and joy as we processed alongside Jesus into the city, waving palms and rejoicing, celebrating with the special communion class as they gathered together to share the Eucharistic banquet with their families.

On Monday, we gathered in an intimate circle of candlelight and chant, bringing our brokenness and the stories of our lives to God’s grace and healing.

On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to pause, to quiet our minds and our hearts, and to walk the labyrinth in a new way, accompanied by beautiful words of meditation and music, prayerfully joining Jesus as he made his way along the Via Dolorosa.

Then Wednesday, while an early spring storm raged outside, inside, a simple and beautiful service of choral evensong, evoking an ancient time of gathering in the early church.

Thursday, we gathered over dinner for the final Lenten Connect program as we explored and deepened our common identity as a Eucharistic community and then gathered in the sanctuary to remember and reenact the Last Supper and to experience the deep desolation of loss in the stripping of the altar, our hope seemingly lost as the light of Christ was extinguished.

On Good Friday: a stark and simple gathering, hearing again the story of the last human moments of our Lord Jesus Christ; holding the moment close in the quiet of our bereavement.

The presence of the Holy Spirit permeated this sacred space, as the story built, through words and music and meditation and ritual, to this – This is the night! This is the moment we have all been yearning for. Through a roller-coaster ride of scripture stories of sin and redemption, that connect us with what has been and what will be, we bear witness to the miracle of creation as God’s love brings order out of chaos, new life out of the stark void. We huddle together as we endure the long days and nights of despair, as the waters flood the earth; and we are brought out of our desolation into the promise of new life and abundance by the signs of God’s promise of faithfulness.

Our hearts break again as we are confronted with challenges and unthinkable horror, yet we are reminded that even here, in these darkest places of despair, we are never hidden from God’s love and we are never, ever, alone. Though we may be faced with unimaginable evil and seemingly unbearable circumstance, God intervenes. Throughout human history, in our own individual and communal histories, over and over God’s people cry out to him, and over and over, He responds with steadfast faithfulness.

This is the night! And so we now walk into Easter morning, empowered by the experience of reconciliation, secure in the abiding love of God and emboldened by the power of the spirit. Having rejected our hearts of stone, we have nothing to fear. Our dry bones of despair are animated by the Holy Spirit and we leap for joy to join the dance of rebirth. We invite you now to join with your brothers and sisters and enter into the dawn of this new light, as in surprise so joyful that it takes our breath away, we witness the mystery and miracle of the resurrection, and renew our promise of participation in this new thing that God has done. This new light, this new way of living and being, mingles with the light of heaven and draws us deeper into the heart and dream of God.

Amen.

The Rev. Maggie Geller
Church of the Good Shepherd