RCL Easter Vigil
7 April 2012
Saint Faith’s
Anglican Church
Vancouver BC
[Audio link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74275025/RCL%20Easter%20Vigil%207%20Apr%202012.mp3]
[Audio link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74275025/RCL%20Easter%20Vigil%207%20Apr%202012.mp3]
Why is this night
different from every other night?
As we
gather on this most holy of nights, our Jewish sisters and brothers are
continuing their celebration of Passover, the commemoration of their liberation
from slavery in Egypt and their exodus into the freedom of the Promised
Land. For Jews this is a domestic
celebration and around dining tales throughout the world traditional dishes will
be share with prayer and with song and with story.
At an early
point in the meal the youngest person at the table will ask the famous
question, “Why is this night different from every other night?” This question will open the door to the
stories of the exodus and Jews will fulfill the obligation to share these
stories from generation to generation until that great Passover when the
Messiah comes to bring God’s eternal reign of justice and peace.
Genuine
religious faith is not afraid of questions.
Questions give rise to a search for meaning and to a wonder at the depth
and variety of our existence. Our
searching leads to discoveries, revelations and to more questions. We are drawn to the mystery we call God as
surely as moths are drawn to light and newborns to the scent of their mothers.
Why is this night
different from every other night?
For
Christians this is the night when we sing the great Easter proclamation known
as the Exsultet after its opening
word, “Rejoice!” I still remember the
first time I heard the Exsultet: April 1979 as Saturday the 14th
gave way to Sunday the 15th.
It was the moment when I fell in love with worship as a means to
experience the love of God.
In the
version of the Exsultet I first
heard, there is a phrase which disappeared from the version we have in our
service book: “Accept this Easter
candle, the work of your creatures, the
bees.” It is an omission that I
regret.
We tend to
be so focused on our own bondage, whether to sin, to fear or to death, that we
forget that all of God’s creatures are in bondage to those things which we have
done and to those things which we have not done. Throughout the world plant species are
declining because the bees that pollinate them are dying, some due to our
pollution of the environment. As human
beings encroach on the ‘wild places’ of the earth, some predators and
scavengers seek food in our garbage dumps and our homes, becoming dangers to be
hunted down and, if not relocated, killed.
This is the
night when the Exsultet reminds us
that all creation needs liberation --- not from its sin but from the sins of
humanity. When we sing the Exsultet, regardless of which version we
use, we renew our commitment to live simply so that other creatures may simply
live.
Why is this night
different from every other night?
This is the
night when Christians acknowledge that the new life promised by God’s raising
of Jesus from the dead has come in response to human disobedience and
evil. It is an admission that requires
humility and courage.
In the
oldest forms of the Exsultet there is
a line: “O blessed iniquity! That such a sin should merit such a
Saviour!” Christians, on this night, are
unafraid to speak of humanity’s ancient sin:
the desire to be God rather than rejoice in being one of God’s beloved
creatures and stewards of creation. We
dare to speak of this deep-seated fault boldly, because we know that God’s
power to redeem, to renew and to transfigure is far greater than our power to
destroy, to alienate and to stagnate.
Why is this night
different from every other night?
This is the
night when we join Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his simple profession of the Easter
faith:
Good is stronger than evil;
love is stronger than hate;
light is stronger than darkness;
life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours,
through Christ who loves us.
This is the
night when we proclaim that the good news of God in Christ is good news to all
of God’s creatures who suffer from the consequences of human sin.
This is the
night when we proclaim that the new life we celebrate comes only because we
have loved the works of selfishness and division more than the works of
compassion and reconciliation.
Why is this night
different from every other night?
Because Christ is
risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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