Easter Vigil

Leading up this holy night, the whole church has been keeping vigil.  At the Last Supper, Jesus gave us an example of how we are to transform the world.  Jesus got down on His knees and washed the feet of his disciples, and said we are to do likewise:  that is to say, we are to wash the feet of God’s poor.

On Good Friday, the crucified Jesus showed us that death is not a defeat.  Rather it is the way to the fullness of life.  The fullness of Easter joy is experienced on the other side of the cross.

Now we celebrate the Easter Vigil, the mother of all vigils.

We began with the lighting of the Easter Fire in the landscaped area at the front entrance of the Church.  From the Easter fire, we lit the Easter candle, the Christ candle – the light of the Risen Christ that overcomes the darknesses of our lives.  Our individual candles were lit from the light of the paschal candle symbolizing that Christ is our light.

Deacon Don and Jacob Fuhrman then chanted the powerful Easter hymn, the Exultet:
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor!
Rejoice, O Mother Church, exult in glory.
Sound the trumpet of salvation.
Jesus Christ, our King, is Risen!
Let this place resound in joy,
Echoing the song of all God’s people!

In the Liturgy of the word, we are swept through the landscape of our salvation history.  Israel should have been crushed.  But there is no losing when God is on our side.  God can even marshal the forces of nature to aid the defenseless.  Israel’s journey through the Red Sea is a symbol of the Passover of Jesus from death to life, and our deliverance from the slavery to sin into freedom in grace through the water of baptism.

Following this Liturgy of the Word, we will joyfully celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation with our RCIA candidates.  They have been on a spiritual journey all of their lives.  Some time ago, they have heard God’s call and enrolled in the RCIA program.  They have been praying and discerning, and we have been praying for them.

We will be baptizing Debra Garlock, Brennan Garlock, Hadley Garlock, and Megan Hanselman. They will go into the Baptismal water as a sign that they have died to sin by the power of Christ’s grace.  They will come out of the water as a sign that the Spirit of Jesus has come upon them and made them brothers and sisters of Jesus, alive with the life of God.

As our elect are immersed in the baptismal waters, the action of going into the water expresses our need to die in our sinfulness and to our individualistic old selves, so that we can rise and put on the Lord Jesus Christ as we rise out of the waters of Baptism.  They become alive with the life of Jesus Christ.

In turn, all of us will be invited to renew our Baptismal vows by blessing ourselves in our Easter-Baptismal water at the baptismal font.  We who have waded in the waters of Baptism perhaps many, many years ago still must surrender ourselves each day to dying to our sinfulness and desire again to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then we will formally receive into the Catholic Church the RCIA elect as full members of our Church through the Sacraments of Initiation.  Our RCIA candidates are Adam Greenly and Lynn Bartholomew.  We also will be celebrating the Sacrament Confirmation with Melissa Dawson and Jesseca Downey.

As a faith community, we rejoice with an Easter joy in welcoming our elect fully into the sacramental life of the Church, the mystery of the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.
The final movement of the great Easter Vigil is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. 

We gather to give thanks to the Lord our God.  In Eucharist, we are fed and nourished at the Table of the Lord.  We share in the mystery of the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.  As the community of the baptized and as a Eucharistic community, we proclaim that we are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.
 
As a blessed people, we now celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation into the mystery of the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.