“Beloved in the Lord, on this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, we are gathered here in vigil and prayer …”

And with these words the presiding minister begins the Great Vigil of Easter. And while at St. John’s we don’t gather for a vigil but choose instead an earlier morning “Sunrise” service, the words are no less helpful for us as we consider the importance of worship on the Resurrection of Our Lord.

“On this most holy night …” The disciples had already run away from Calvary’s mountain in fear. They had likely already gathered together, cloistered away also because of that fear, not knowing what would come next.  And while the women would soon reveal the glorious news of resurrection, they could not at that moment fathom the import of that night.

“Our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life…” We often use euphemisms like “passed on” to avoid speaking of death. In this case, these words are intended to draw a connection between God’s work to deliver the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and God’s work to deliver US from slavery to sin and death. There is an intentional connection between God’s people “keeping vigil” over the night before Easter and God’s people waiting for the angel of death to passover their homes, sparing their first-born sons from the plague that God would inflict on Pharaoh and Egyptian households.

“We are gathered here in vigil and prayer…” We have become conditioned to a worship service that can be contained in less than one hour, maybe a bit more on occasion. The Great Vigil of Easter has its roots in an entire night spent in prayer and waiting, singing and reading the great stories of the faith. And while I respect the need to be efficient in our worship services and respect the needs of many (especially those with young children), we have lost something in the church today. We have forgotten what it means, I fear, to just sit and wait for the revelation of God’s work. 

That really is the glorious news of Easter and the Resurrection of Our Lord. It’s not just about spring and the promise of new life that comes with this season. It’s not just about celebrating another event in the life of Jesus the Christ. This chief festival of the year is the REASON we exist, the church, that is. Because Christ has been raised, so we, too, will be raised. And that promise is the promise that brings us together … not only on Easter, but every time we are gathered together!