The Great Vigil of Easter

God said, “Let there be light, and there was light, and God saw that the light was good.”

“Rejoice now, heav’nly hosts and choirs of angels… all the round earth, bright with a glorious splendor, for darkness has been vanquish’d by our eternal King… This is the night when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.  How blessed is this night when earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God.” [The Exsultet]

These beautiful and meaningful words of the Exsultet, with which we begin the Easter Vigil liturgy are worthy of being repeated.  This is the impetus of this night’s glorious celebration.

This is the night we celebrate the light victorious over darkness.  From writings composed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the earliest years of our Anglican faith tradition, we find A PRAYER TO BE SAID AT THE LIGHTING UP OF CANDLES which begins: “Great and thick darkness over whelmeth our hearts, O Lord, until thy light do chase it away.”

It was St. Francis of Assisi who said, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”  Tonight, we celebrate the glorious light that once and for all time has chased away the great and thick darkness of our hearts.

There are times of darkness in our lives, sometimes times of very deep darkness. Yet, we are reminded that God did not create darkness; God created light in the darkness as we have read in the Genesis account of Creation.  God created light and separated it from the darkness; God called the light Day and God called the darkness Night.  By naming the darkness, God took charge of the darkness, assuring us that his light remains victorious even in the darkness.

Even in the darkest stormiest nights of our lives, we know that morning will come, light will come.  We look toward the light; we know the light will come.

We pray that the horrific fire at Notre Dame Cathedral has cast its light in the darkness of faithlessness that has permeated throughout France and much of Europe and the world over the last century.  Perhaps the Paschal fire that has led the procession of Christians through the streets of Paris will spread to chase away the great and thick darkness that has overwhelmed the hearts of so much of the world.  There is no darkness that is not vanquished with God’s light.

As people of faith, we carry both the light and the darkness.  There is never a time when darkness is not present.  As people of faith, we confront this reality and strive to focus on the light – nurturing the light that vanquishes the darkness, ever seeking the strength to move toward the light, to rise out of the darkness of evil that seeks to consume us.

Tonight, we stand near this marvelous flame and sing the worthy praise of this great light… How holy is this night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is wash’d away through Jesus Christ God’s Son our LORD, who lives and reigns with him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen