Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on April 7, 2007
(Year C, The Great Vigil of Easter, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. MannAt The Liturgy of the Word
Genesis 1:1-2:2 [The Story of Creation]
Exodus 14:10-15:1 [Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea]
Isaiah 55:1-11 [Salvation offered freely to all]
Ezekiel 36:24-28 [A new heart and a new spirit]At The Eucharist
Romans 6:3-11
Matthew 28:1-10"The strife is o'er, the battle done, the victory of life is won; the song of triumph has begun. Alleluia!
"The powers of death have done their worst, but Christ their legions hath dispersed: let shout of holy joy outburst. Alleluia!
"The three sad are quickly sped, he rises glorious from the dead: all glory to our risen head. Alleluia!"
(Hymn 208, Hymnal 1982, v.1-3.)The Great Vigil of Easter is the culmination of the sacred celebration of Holy Week and the beginning of the celebration of the Lord's Resurrection. It is the climax of the Christian Year and unfolds in Scripture, psalm, Sacrament and liturgy the story of [our] redemption. It begins in darkness and proceeds to a joyous burst of light. It begins in silence and proceeds to the glorious proclamation of the Paschal Alleluia.
(Adapted from A Priest's Handbook: The Ceremonies of the Church, 2nd ed. by Dennis G. Michno)This past week and especially these last three days, we have read, acted out, listened to, participated in, and lived through the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lessons, the music, the prayers, and all of the symbols in these liturgies are designed to direct all of our being to this singular event in history, which forever has changed mankind. Almighty God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to win for us the crusade against our mortality.
Now you may remember that in the burial office at the commendation we say, "You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind, and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return." But it is by the death of Jesus Christ and his mighty resurrection that we are able to conclude that prayer by saying, "yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Now why would we sing a song of joy at our own graveside? What does the Apostle Paul tell us? He reminds us that when we are baptized into Christ Jesus we are baptized into his death. And if into his death then we are also buried, right into the stone cold tomb alongside Jesus. But if we are buried with him then we also get to share in his resurrection: a resurrection to new life with a new resurrected body. Our baptism into death is the moment of our rebirth. We are born again of water and by the Holy Spirit so that on the day that we physically die and leave this earth, we will meet Jesus on the other side and hear him say to us, "Greetings! Do not be afraid." And we can say Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! That is the hope of the resurrection. That is the Good News of the Gospel. That is our song of joy!
Alleluia! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!