Lenten Daily Meditation

Friday, April 22, 2011

The Resurrection of the Lord
Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter

April 23, 2011

To see the readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml

The last time I did daily meditations as my Lenten discipline was in 2008, and I am surprised by a change in the intervening years. Back then, there was a separate set of readings for Holy Saturday. So I was surprised, when I went to the USCCB readings site today, to find that the only readings shown are those for the Easter Vigil. I'm not complaining -- being a person who has always participated in the Triduum, I found it sort of odd to treat Holy Saturday like something other than the day of the Easter Vigil.

The Easter Vigil is, to my mind, the most beautiful service of the year. It starts with a bonfire outside, from which the Easter candle is lit. Then we process in with candles, and sit through the readings in the darkness...the account of the creation of the world, Abraham showing that he was willing to sacrifice Isaac for God, Moses parting the Red Sea, Isaiah's song of praise to God and other prophecies, and finally, the discovery that Jesus has risen from the dead. The lights come up and there is joyous celebration, singing alleluia and gloria. Those who have been preparing to join the church are welcomed in baptism and confirmed. Then the entire congregation, including the new members, share in the celebration of the eucharist. It is a long service, and by the end, as a choir member, I am usually physically tired. But spiritually, I feel totally energized. All the symbols and sacraments of the church are allowed to shine at their best in that one service.

Darkness into light; fear into joy; the old made new; celebration and exaltation and joy unbridled. That's how I experience the core message of the church, and never do I experience it more than on this evening. I really feel like burdens are lifted from my heart, like I want to laugh and sing and dance for joy. I suspect I'm not the only one who feels that way, because following this long service (and it is a long one!) I never hear any complaining, and no one ever seems to be hurrying home. No, everyone seems to want to stay and fellowship, to welcome the new members and visit with old friends in a great communal glow. I would say that it feels more like a family reunion than anything else. I find myself looking around at people I see every week through the year and noticing how much I appreciate them. To coin a phrase the Bishop used in our Holy Thursday homily, "The presence of God in me senses the presence of God in them."

Of course, our Easter celebration is both a culmination and a beginning. The expectation is that we will go out from there and live as saved people. We who lived through the discipline and self examination of Lent, who shared in the passion and death of Christ, who rejoiced in the resurrection, are now supposed to go out and act on the teachings of Jesus. We are supposed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give aid to the poor. We are to extend the hand of human kindness to the outcast, to love those who don't make it easy to love them. In a very real way, the annual celebration of Easter is a bit of a way to fill our tank, to fuel us up for another year of service. And at least for me, it works. I will leave the service ready to go try a little harder. I'll stumble along the way and not always do a good job, but I really believe that God gives partial credit. In fact, I'm counting on it!

This will be the last new post for this year's Lenten journal. I want to say a profound thank-you to those who walked this journey with me. Though Shannon was the only one who ever posted a reply -- and Shannon, I can't say how much I appreciated it -- others did mention it to me here and there, so I know there were other readers. Knowing you were there helped give me the discipline I needed to stay with it. The effort of these six weeks has inspired me to return to blogging on a more regular basis. I won't attempt to maintain the daily pace, but having done it for six weeks, I'm convinced I can write a few times a week faithfully. So if you're interested in joining my ongoing ruminations on this and that -- a lot more secular stuff than this one -- please join me moving forward at http://www.candidlysusan.blogspot.com/.

Holy One, I thank you for the act of salvation you so selflessly gave, and I thank you for the ancient tradition of the Easter Vigil that so beautifully focuses us on it. I worship you and praise your name with every fiber of my being, Lord. I give you all glory and honor and praise; I exalt your name and thank you. I know that those who have shared this journey with me also share in praising you. Please strengthen us in our resolve to live to your glory. Pour out your Spirit, Lord, and strengthen our resolve to live our lives in ways that give you glory every day. Help us to reflect glory to you in our every word and every deed. In your glorious name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen

¶ 10:24 PM

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