Easter Vigil

By The Rev. Martha Frances+

Easter Vigil

11 April 2009 

Texts:  "Creation" from God's Trombones by James Weldon Johnson

in place of Genesis 1:1-2:2

Exodus 14:10-15:1; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Ezekiel 37: 1-14 

      This evening we've kindled the new fire & affirmed the light of Christ has not gone out but rather has been made new.  We've heard 4 scriptures from the Hebrew Bible, reminding us of the rich heritage we as well as Jesus' disciples carry with us into this Holy Night.  We have among us 3 children who come for baptism on this special night, & we share with them stories & promises of our faith as we welcome them more fully into this family of God's people.  Briefly, let us remember some of the gifts of our faith community.

      We chose the Creation passage from God's Trombones by James Weldon Johnson who also wrote Lift Every Voice & Sing because Johnson's picture of God's need for companionship & tremendous love for us in our being made human pours out to us & is made even more real by the praise dancers.  One of our baptismal promises which we will renew this night along with the children being baptized is that we will proclaim by word & example the God news of God in Christ.  Johnson proclaimed in his music & words the wonder of our creation.  Our praise dancers proclaim in their movement the magnitude of this gift.  How many ways can you & I proclaim that God's gift of our very creation, & our re-creation each Easter, is a gift for all?  How do we invite others into the celebration of such an amazing relationship with God?

      The second scripture this evening celebrates God's release of the Hebrew people from their slavery in Egypt, specifically their escape through the Red or Reed Sea into the wilderness where God spent the next 40 years molding them into the nation of Israel.  We share this celebration with our Jewish brothers & sisters this week as they commemorate Passover, & we ask God not only for the courage to act which Moses & the other Hebrews had but also for the perseverance to be willing to be molded into God's community.  Our first baptismal promise includes essential elements in our becoming disciples:  learning from the apostles' teaching (that is, the Bible) & fellowship where we learn to love one another, breaking of the bread by our regular participation in Holy Communion, & daily personal & corporate prayer.  Just as the Israelites became God's chosen people in their time, we can be open to becoming disciples in our ongoing Christian formation in community. 

      Ezekiel tells us that all peoples & nations shall make up God's holy people as he describes the renewal of God's people after their exile in Babylon & also the re-creation which God offers to us.  All of us can allow our hearts to become stone-like from the burdens of the world, God offers a cleansing which sounds much like our baptism which also softens our hearts into those of flesh, able to feel for & care for our fellow women & men & children.  We promise in our baptismal vows to seek & serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.  Sounds strangely like the 2^nd great commandment which Christ gave to us, doesn't it?  When you meet people in your daily lives, do you see Christ in that person?  It's not easy, with some of the people we meet, is it?  Do we allow others to see Christ in us?  Christ offers each of us a re-created heart; how many ways can we accept the renewal of our hearts & support others in their own renewal?

      How many of us have been in that valley of dry bones sometimes in our lives?  I've felt a little of the valley in my illness the past 3 weeks.  Although that valley can be caused by many things, I relate the dry bones today to the evil which crops up over & over in our lives & with which we have to deal.  Another baptismal promise is that we will persevere in resisting evil & when we fall into sin, repent & return to God.  Doesn't say if we sin, because we know we'll do so, don't we?  Our children showed us earlier how awkward & mechanical it is to be reborn when we have fallen into evil, yet God promises to breathe the breath of life back into us that we might live, over & over as many times as it takes.  Sometimes we need breathing lessons, & we're promising this evening to keep practicing the breathing & teaching it to our young folks so we can be filled & refilled with the Spirit of God.  Evil is inevitable, yet God promises to overcome it, over & over again. 

      The other promise we will make in a few minutes, not only for ourselves once again but also to support this & our other young folk in their growth as disciples is to strive for justice & peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.  Jesus' love knows no boundaries, & Jesus' resurrection is for all.  With all the strife in the world today, it is tempting for us to demonize "the other side," whether that be across the aisle in the Congress or people who came to this country illegally or those in other countries whose behavior doesn't fit with our expectations of civility.  Yet, God calls for all of us to be brothers & sisters; Christ's love is for all humans to be treated with dignity & respect. 

      We are the village that it takes to rear our group of young people so they join us in living into what it means to be a disciple of this resurrected Jesus whose new life we celebrate this evening.  May we enter into the next 50 days of this Easter Season celebrating God's gift of new life in Jesus the Christ as well as our own opportunity to find out anew what God has in store for this community of disciples in the near future.  Let us join in celebrating the new life of these & all our children.