Easter Vigil

The Great Vigil of Easter

Not only are we blessed with a wonderful congregation which we call home, we are also blessed to have a local sister congregation with whom we occasionally celebrate special services, including Epiphany, Ascension, and my favorite service of the year, the Great Vigil of Easter. I love the transition from darkness to light that this service brings, the symbolism and remembrances. It feels like an extended time of the Sacrament, when Heaven and Earth intersect.

The bulletin from the Vigil had a great explanation of the parts of which the service is made up, and I thought I’d share that here:

“The Vigil has four parts. (1) It begins with the Service of Light. The Paschal (Passover) candle is lighted from new fire. Then we light our candles from the Paschal Candle. Following a procession, the Exsultet (Proclamation) joyously sounds the theme for the evening. (2) During the second part of the Vigil, a series of Readings from the Old Testament recalls God’s saving acts for his people throughout history. These readings and the accompanying prayers, psalms, and canticles, are the “vigil” portion of the service. Vigil means patiently but expectantly waiting for a celebration. During this service we ignore time. The Vigil has no set length, it lasts as long as it lasts. (3) The third part of the Service focuses on Baptismal Remembrance. We rejoice again in the blessings God gave to us in Baptism. We confess again the faith that the Holy Spirit gave to us in Baptism. And we promise again to live faithfully as God’s baptized people. Often we have the privilege of witnessing Baptisms or Confirmations. (4) The Vigil comes to a joyous conclusion in the Service of the Lord’s Supper, which begins tonight and is completed at the Festival Divine Service on Easter morning.”

It is a great blessing to go to this service and have the chance to “peak in the tomb” before Easter Sunday’s services, and hear the Word proclaimed so completely.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

The Great Vigil of Easter

I don’t think I could ever find words to describe how much I love this service. The return of the Light, the readings from Holy Scripture, the remembrance of Baptism, the return of the Alleluias, the Lord’s Supper–I love it all.

I still remember the first time I attended the Easter Vigil–it was when I was in college, and it was something my church was doing either for the first time, or one of the first times…we certainly didn’t do it when I was growing up there. I remember sitting in the pew, in the darkness (that service started at 11:00 p.m., so it was really dark!), and thinking that I wished it would never end.

I still feel that way. If it weren’t for worrying about how loud my children are being, or how much longer they can make it through the service, I could stay forever. There is something so ancient and beautiful about the way the service is arranged, and the readings that are chosen–it is the perfect transition from darkness into Light, from Lent to Easter–and also provides so much in the way of Word and Sacrament.

Surely it is the Church on Earth at Her best!

The Great Vigil of Easter

Without a doubt, this is my favorite church service.  I look forward to it all year long (although, there have been plenty of years where there was no service available for me to attend).  Don’t get me wrong, I love Easter morning and Christmas Eve services, and all the other festival Sundays, but the Vigil will always be my favorite.  The return of the Light, the Scripture readings, remembering our Baptism, the Lord’s Supper…going from the tomb to the resurrection. So ancient and beautiful, with all of the chanting, and the sprinkling of Baptismal water, the Sacrament, and especially that moment where we can finally say again “He is risen indeed.  Alleluia.”  And the return of the joyful chords of Jesus Christ is Risen Today, which chokes me up every Easter, after the long wait of Lent.

There’s just nothing else like it.