“This is the night!” the Easter Vigil liturgy proclaims. This is the night in which God brought an end to the power of sin, death, and evil; this is the night we are renewed in grace, restored to holiness, and heaven and earth joined. In the early church, Easter Vigil was foremost of all church festivals.
Typically, on Easter Vigil, the worship would last three hours (don’t worry – we won’t worship that long) and conclude at the stroke of midnight. After beginning worship with a newly lit fire, the worshipers would gather in the worship space with their lit candles and read 12 Old Testament readings, what I call the “Greatest Hits of the Bible,” plus one reading from Romans and the Easter story from the Gospel of John. Each reading would be followed by a psalm or other scripture reading, silence, and a prayer. All those who had been preparing to be baptized throughout the season of Lent would be baptized together on Easter Vigil. Finally, worshipers would come together to the table to receive Christ’s body and blood.
While in the United States we celebrate Christmas with gusto, in the church, Easter and especially Easter Vigil are the moments of unspeakable joy. This is the night that changes everything. For we may come to believe that death and sin and evil will have the last word. We may wonder if we will ever come back from grief and hurt and betrayal. We may resign ourselves to hopelessness, but at Easter Vigil, this is the night we discover God’s response to evil: by breaking the power of it and raising Jesus from the dead. And in the same way, God will raise us up every time and in every way we are bowed down. This is the night when our deepest fear and our deepest joy collide. In the bareness and desolation of Good Friday and the long wait of Holy Saturday, we suddenly hear the inexplicable good news: Christ is risen!
We gather for Easter Vigil worship on Saturday, March 30 at 7 pm. We will not read all of the Greatest Hits of the Bible, so our celebration should be no longer than an hour and a half. Come join us as we light candles and hear the stories of the ancients and affirm our baptism and share in Christ’s resurrection joy.