In the name of the one God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
A wealthy couple in Bel Air, California employed Aunt Tee who was what we would call their chief of staff. Silence was always held during mealtime between the couple. Aunt Tee had been with the couple for a long time and watched them grow older through the years. However, Aunt Tee did not think of herself as getting older. Saturdays were Aunt Tee’s favorite day of the week. She loved being with people and having a good time. Her dinner guests were usually the fellow she was “keeping company” which was the chauffer along with another couple. Together the four of them would have a roaring time with eating, drinking, and playing a “serious game of bid whist”; all awhile the “fingers snapped, feet were patted and there was a great deal of laughter.” One evening Aunt Tee and her friends heard something that caught their attention: A cool breezed went up her back as she straightened up in her chair to turned around to see what was going on…“Theresa, we don’t mean to disturb you,” the man said to her, “but you all seem to be having such a good time…” His wife said, “We’d just like to watch you. We don’t want to bother you. We’ll be quiet and just watch.” The he added, “If you just leave the door ajar, your friends don’t need to know. We’ll never make a sound.” [from Maya Angelou, “Living Well, Living Good,” in Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now(New York: Randon House, 1992), pp63f.]
Our gathering this evening is not a private dinner party or an event where a chair is placed for you near a jarred door so you can watch from a distance. Nope, wrong house. Rather you are invited this evening in the house of God and share in all that is taking place.
Your invitation includes full participation in all four parts of the Great Easter Vigil allowing your senses to be touched in some way, by the power of God this evening. We will move out of darkness into light exhibiting the victory of Christ rising from death to life on the eve of Easter morning.
The Great Easter Vigil invites us to follow the paschal candle that signifies darkness does not win over light. Our path in life is bright when we walk toward the light of Christ and take time to pass that light to each other in the darkness of our broken world as we seek the risen Christ among the diverse human creation of God that extends throughout the world.
The Great Easter Vigil invites us to listen, recall the creation story, and remember it is our church mission to be reconciled with God through our Savior Jesus Christ. God shows us mighty acts of deliverance from darkened times out of love as we hear the Exodus story of the crossing of the Israelites at the Red Sea. The Israelites found hope and faith in God while in the wilderness.
I recall watching in horror and shedding tears each time I watched the news coverage on hurricane Katrina. I went to New Orleans on a mission trip to volunteer at a food pantry for a week last June. The destroyed neighborhoods where homes used to exist are currently like ghost towns. Many terrified homeowners wrote messages on their front door pleading for their homes not to be bull dozed. Everyday my heart broke. These scenes were over whelming especially while walking through the lower nine-parish section in the city. This is one of the areas, where the levees broke and people lost their lives being swept away suddenly by the strong velocity of high floodwaters.
However, my sense of despair vanquished when I saw a glimmer of hope in a woman who walked passed me in a carryout (one of the very few places opened for business). Her tee shirt caught my eye. The caption on the front of it read, “We may have lost everything but we have our lives,” this was inscribed above picture of a house submerged in water up to the roof. I made an inquiry about her shirt. She smiled and told me all her neighbors decided to have these shirts made. They serve as signs of solidarity and love among them within their neighborhood. Her gathered community certainly believed and trusted that God had not abandoned them. Through it all God was there. The surviving remnant supported each other during the aftermath of the hurricane and they continue to hold each other up with care and love. This is a story of hope and faith. The woman’s ability to maintain her hope enabled me to recapture mine for the duration of my stay. I brought her hope back home within me. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed,” says the psalmist. (Ps.126:4, NRSV)
The Great Easter Vigil invites us to renew your baptism vows tonight and reminds us of the promises we make with the resounding “I will with God’s help” as we are being examined and recharged by our new life in Christ having received the gift of salvation from God. It is through the awesome power of the paschal mystery that our salvation is possible.
Lastly, after the altar all the candles are lit the Great Easter Vigil invites us to the celebration of the first Holy Eucharist of Easter. It is during the prayers of the Eucharist the very presence of Christ is with us while we take the Body and Blood of Christ unto ourselves and in unity with each other as the people of God at this festive feast. “Now the queen of seasons, bright with the day of splendor, with the royal feast of feasts, comes its joy to render; comes to glad Jerusalem, who with true affection welcomes in unwearied strains of Jesus’ resurrection.” (#199, 1982 Hymnal) Christ is risen!
A blessed and glorious Easter to everyone!
AMEN.