The Great Vigil of Easter-The Rev Melanie Lemburg

The Rev Melanie Dickson Lemburg

The Great Vigil of Easter Year B

March 30, 2024

 

This is the night…

 

This is the night when we

remember the power

of a single flame of fire

leading the way

in the darkness.

 

This is the night

when we follow that flame

into the darkness of a tomb.

 

This is the night

when we huddle together

in the warm embrace of

candlelight

and see the shadows of our ancestors

gathered around us-

a multitude of lights

who participate with us

in the sacred story.

 

This is the night

when we remember

how God has acted

and continues to act

in love

to save

all of God’s good creation.

 

 

This is the night

when we weep with God

over the ways we oppress and

enslave

and are oppressed and enslaved,

how it sweeps away humanity

in the swell of a huge tide

and how we are all the

lesser for it.

 

This is the night

when we watch

in awe and terror

as God takes what once was dead

and gives it breath

and new life.

 

This is the night

when we remember

each of us has been claimed as

God’s beloved,

marked as Christ’s own forever, and

we affirm that

call and claim on how we live our lives.

 

This is the night when

the light returns,

joy is resurrected,

death is conquered

and all creation is restored.

 

This is the night

When love finally prevails.