Sunday School, April 12, 2015 The Second Sunday of Easter

Sunday School, April 12, 2015   The Second Sunday of Easter

This is often called “Doubting Thomas” Sunday.

You might teach the children the lesson about how we can believe without seeing.

Sometimes we have to trust the words of others about things we don’t see ourselves.

When a child is alone is one’s bedroom and cannot see mom or dad, does that mean mom or dad is absent from one’s life?  Does it mean that mom and dad loves them less even when they can’t see them.

We are not like the disciple Thomas.   He was able to see the Risen Christ.

We have to believe that Christ is Risen and the proof of Christ being risen is found in our actions of loving and caring for each other.

We believe because we can know the experience of the love of Christ through us.

Puppet Show on the Doubting Thomas

Doubting Thomas

Characters: Fr. Phil, Doubting Thomas, and Jesus

Father Phil:  Today, boys and girls we are going to meet a famous disciple and friend of Jesus.  But he is known for not believing things.  So his name is Doubting Thomas.  O look, I see that he’s here now.  Hello Thomas, how are you?

Thomas:  I’m not sure about how I am?  I just have some doubts about how I am.

Father Phil:  Well you do have a reputation.  Some people call you Doubting Thomas.  Is that true?

Thomas:  I doubt it.

Father Phil: Can you children say hello to doubting Thomas?

Children:  Hello, doubting Thomas.

Thomas: What children?  I don’t see any children.

Father Phil: These children right here.

Thomas:  I doubt it.

Father Phil:  What do you mean you doubt it?  Look at these children here.  Can’t you see them?

Thomas:  I see some little creatures here, but how do I know that these aren’t space aliens? 

How do I know that they aren’t  Sponge Bobs?

Father Phil: Well, you have a serious doubting problem Thomas.  You could ask their parents.  They would tell you that these are their children.

Thomas:  But if you were a space alien parent, you might not tell the truth about your space alien children?

Father Phil:  Thomas, have a really serious problem with doubt.  Is something wrong?

Thomas:  Yes, I am really having some problems with belief.

Father Phil: Why?

Thomas:  Well, you know my best friend Jesus died.  He died a horrible death on the cross.  And his body was placed in a tomb.  And now his body is missing from the tomb.  And I don’t know what this means.

Father Phil:  Well what happened?

Thomas:  Well, my friends went to the tomb and they said they saw an angel and the angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead.  How can anyone believe that?

Father Phil: Well, that is pretty amazing.  Don’t you want to believe it?

Thomas:  My friends have teased me and I think that they are playing a joke on me.  They said that they have seen and talked with Jesus.  How can this be true?  And why would they say this to me?  I don’t think it is a very funny joke.  My best friend Jesus died and now my friends are saying that he lives again and they are saying that they have seen him and talked with him.

Father Phil: Well, what are you going to do?

Thomas:  I told them that I have my doubts.  I don’t believe them.  And I won’t believe them unless I can see Jesus and talk with him.  I want proof.  I want to put my hands in the scars on his body or I will not believe.  How can my friends tease me in this way?

Father Phil:  Well, maybe you should go and talk with your friends.

Thomas:  Well, they are having a meeting in a secret place.  They still are frightened and so they are meeting in secret.  I guess I’ll go and see them but I don’t like this joke they are playing on me.

(Thomas goes and suddenly Jesus appears)

Thomas:  O my goodness.  Is that you Jesus?  It looks like you but are you real?  Am I just dreaming?  Are you a ghost?

Jesus: Thomas, peace be with you.  It is I, Jesus your friend.  Look at my scars.  Put your finger out and touch them and feel.

Thomas:  My Lord and my God!  It really is you.  I am so sorry that I did not believe.  I am so sorry that I doubted.

Jesus:  Well, now you can believe.  But many people will not be able to see me like you have and those people will still believe.  Look at all of these children here.  They have not seen me like you have but they still believe.

Father Phil:  And now Thomas has lost his name; he no longer is Doubting Thomas.   His name is Believing Thomas.  Don’t you like that name better.

Thomas:  I do like that name better.

Father Phil: Well, I like that name better too.  And you see all of these children.  They are Believing Children.  And now can you repeat after me, “I believe that Jesus is alive!”  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 12, 2015: The Second Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Glory Be to God On High; Alleluia, Give Thanks to the Risen Lord; He is Lord; He Lives!

Song: Glory Be to God on High (Christian Children Songbook, # 70)

Glory be to God on high, alleluia.  Glory be to God on high, alleluia.

Praise the Father, Spirit, Son, alleluia.  Praise the Godhead, Three in one, alleluia.

Sing we praises unto Thee, alleluia, for the truth that sets us free. Alleluia.

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the First Letter of John

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 133

Oh, how good and pleasant it is, * when brothers and sisters live together in unity!

For there the LORD has ordained the blessing: * life for evermore.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."  A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon –   

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks, (Blue Hymnal, # 178)

Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the Risen Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to his Name.

1-Jesus is Lord of all the earth.  He is the King of creation.  Refrain

2-Spread the good news o’er all the earth: Jesus has died and has risen. Refrain

3-We have been crucified with Christ.  Now we shall live forever. Refrain

4-Come, let us praise the living God, joyfully sing to our Savior. Refrain

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Holy Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirt so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

(Children may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:        Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Anthem: He Is Lord (Renew!  # 29)

1.      He is Lord.  He is Lord.  He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.  Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

2.      He is King.  He is King.  He will draw all nations to him, He is king.  And the time shall be when the world shall sing that Jesus Christ is King.

3.      He is Love.  He is Love.  He has shown us by his life that He is Love.  All his people sing with one voice of joy that Jesus Christ is Love.

4.      He is Life.  He is Life.  He has died to set us free and he is Life.  And he calls us now to live evermore, for Jesus Christ is Life.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: He Lives  (Lift Every Voice and Sing # 42).

1.      I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world to today; I know that He is living, whatever others say;  I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He’s always near.

Refrain: He lives.  He lives.  Christ Jesus lives today.  He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.  He lives, He lives salvation to impart!  You ask me how I know He lives.  He lives within my heart.

2.      Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing.  Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!  The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind.  Refrain

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People: Thanks be to God! 

  

Bucket Lists and Resurrection Hope

Easter Sunday    B    April 5, 2015 

Act 10:34-43   Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark 16:1-8

Lectionary Link
  Perhaps you remember the movie several years ago about two middle aged men who had terminal illnesses.   They made what they called their "Bucket List."  In one way or another whether we've actually made a list or not, we all have bucket lists?  We have some specific expectations about what we want to achieve in our lives before we die.  What is the status of your bucket list  today on Easter Sunday?  Did you set your hopes too high?  Are you on your way to achieving all of your bucket list goals?  Climb Mount Everest?  Not going to happen?  Machu Picchu?  Maybe?  Hole in one?
  But really should I be bringing up "bucket lists" on Easter Sunday.  Aren't bucket lists inspired by the thoughts of our death instead of being inspired by our afterlife achievements?
  Can quick and easy resort to the afterlife result in us losing intensity and purpose in our lives?  O well, there's always the afterlife of the eternal to get done those things that have eluded me in this life.  Like being the President of the United States.  Or keeping my office clean.  The thought of an endless after life gives us the ability to tolerate the fact that we will never be the utopian people that we so desire to be or become.
  It might also be wrong to think of death and resurrection in terms of just the individual person; we should also think about death and resurrection in terms of society.
  Societies have bucket lists and these bucket lists are are so utopian in their ideals that we realize that full achievement will not be attained in this life as we now know it.
  Our Declaration of Independence is such a social "bucket list."  Imagine the situation where all are regarded to be created equal and have the equal opportunity to justice, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?  Sometimes we have laws, practice and events of justice when it seems that the ideals of justice get approximated but sometimes it seems as though the actual widespread practice of justice is but a future utopia to achieve.  Utopian life, no such actual life is still meaningful life because it the beckoning future life of the possible.  And I would submit that we cannot live our actual lives without narratives of the possible life. 
  Good Friday and Easter give us pause to consider both the motivating power of death but also the motivating power of the afterlife.
  The bucket list philosophy provides for us the urgency to achieve as much as we can in our bodily existence towards the excellence of a virtuous life consisting of love, justice, faith, wisdom, knowledge, life expanding experiences and compassion. A bucket list philosophy says, "Get as much done in one's life as one possibly can."
  There is something about our scientific and empirical minds which require proof about our life attainments.  The bucket list appeals to our scientific matter of fact minds.  The bucket list scientific mind might hold death as such a brick wall that a scientific mind does not want to let the mind wander beyond life as we know it.  A scientific mind might be happy to remain a complete agnostic about the afterlife.  A scientific mind might be content to have the serenity to accept death as something one cannot change, the courage to do as many things before death, and the wisdom to let the afterlife remain a mystery.
  But does anyone ever actuality live consistent with letting the afterlife remain but a mystery?  Just as one thinks about how situations would be if one moves to another location, so one thinks about the afterlife of others when one is gone.  We have an entire insurance industry built upon practical monetary expressions of our afterlife to the people who live after our deaths.
  On this day, I would build a natural theology of resurrection afterlife upon the reality of the human experience of hope.  
  Hope is the unavoidable experience of human beings always having a future either individually or collectivity.  The imaginations of the afterlife, the life of resurrection are born from the reality of the human experience of hope.
  We have some important questions to address because of the unavoidable experience of hope.
  Hope is like the power of desire on steroids because with hope and the visions of hope we contemplate much more than we can ever actually achieve in our bodily lives.  Hope drives our dreams, wishes and fantasies.  Hope ultimately must co-exist with what we actually achieve with the words and deeds of our lives.  The experience of hope means that we always want and expect more than we will ever achieve.
  And so here is the question: Are you and I embarrassed by hope?  Are you and I tortured by a hope that places before us an unreachable carrot in front of our noses to motivate us without ever attaining the full actuality of hope's vision?
  Is it wrong to have hope?  Are we mistakenly made and constituted as human beings to have as much hope as we have?  
   Are we hopelessly naive people?  Imagine wanting justice, equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all people.  Where did we get such hope to have such impossible utopian ideals?
  Did our maker bring us to the experience of a cruel hoax by simply making us hope and want for much more than we can ever achieve?
  The human experience of hope, I believe compels us to the experience of narratives of hope.  And if one does not admit to them in one's conscious life, one's fantasies and dream lives will compensate with hope for even the most brute factual person.
  As Christians we are are those who have come under the influence of the art of the resurrection.  The art of the resurrection is known to us in the literary art of the Bible which relates to us an immediate afterlife of Jesus in the appearances which he made to his disciples after he died.  The death of Jesus did not end his life.  His life went on after he died in such a profound way because he became accessible to his disciples in new and expanded ways.
  Since the life of Jesus continued to be accessible to his disciples after he died, the disciples came to believe that their own lives would still include relationship accessibility to Christ and others even after they died.
  The logic of resurrection hope is different from the logic of the bucket list.  The logic of the bucket list states: I will achieve what I will achieve and do in this bodily life, and that's that.  The logic of resurrection hope is more of an art than it is a logic.  It is the art of learning to live our lives as yet incomplete but knowing that there is always a surpassing target for which we are aiming.
  The art of resurrection means that secretly we have had many things that we didn't dare put on our conscious bucket list because they were too far fetched.  Hope inspires the utopian and the utopian is always beyond us and yet that which is beyond can inspire narratives which can function to motivate us even while we work at the details of our current bucket lists.          
  Probably the actual bucket list of all of the friends and disciples of Jesus included this:  To develop a life lasting friendship with this wonderful person Jesus as a teacher and friend.  To serve his vision for the world, a vision of hope, faith and justice.  They wanted Jesus to live for the duration of their bodily lives and some of them envisioned being in his earthly administration with Jesus, himself, sitting on a throne in Jerusalem.  But the details of that bucket list did not happen.  The disciples of Jesus had to come to know the risen Christ.  But as the the risen Christ, the narrative of hope, the art of the resurrection could be more widespread.  Jesus left the physical world and returned to his eternal Wordship; and as eternal Word the risen Christ became the motivating carrot of each human person in the quest to surpass oneself in this life and in the life to come.
  The art of resurrection and the brute facts of bucket list living mutually reinforce each other.  We know that we should never give up in achieving what we need to achieve in our bodily live; at the same time we know that we will leave this world "unfinished."  I will leave this world "unfinished" in not having said a proper thank you to all of the mentors who helped me even when I did not know or was able to acknowledge them.  I will leave this world unfinished in all of my friendships and relationships.  The human heart is too vast and complex to think we can ever be finished with each other in final ways.  And in the experience of being unfinished, I look to the narrative of eternal life to be a compensatory state to inspire me even now as I continue take on the items on my daily bucket list.
  Does anyone of us think that the even practice of justice has ever been achieved in this world?  Does the failure of realized justice make us quit believing in justice?  If we believe in endless narratives of what justice might be, how can we deny the many narratives of what the continuing future rearrangement of what our lives will continue to be in the eternal memory of God?
  Even though we cannot empirically verify the afterlife now,  the narratives of the afterlife of love, justice and hope are incredibly meaningful.  Truth is not just about what can be verified with our seeing eyes; truth is also about the great motivational meanings of our life.  And one of the greatest motivational meanings in our life is the resurrection because it means we never give up on believing in the triumph of justice.  It is most meaningful in life never to cease to believe in the possibility of justice.
  Today, I invite us to continue to work on our bucket lists.  Let the thought of our death inspire us to live with intensity and urgency.  But also let the narrative of resurrection eternal life be the inspiration of the life of what is possible.  We know that in the providence of actual living, human experience will be very uneven in what we actually will achieve.
  On this Easter day, the death and resurrection of Christ invite to live the meaning of what is actual and what is possible.  With our bucket list mentality we convert the possible to the actual with a check list mentality.  But with the hopeful narrative of resurrection, we live artistically towards what is possible.  And to deny the artistic narrative of the hope of the resurrection is to restrict, limit and censor meaning in one's life.
  The life of Jesus continued to have a profound relevance after he died and reappeared.  With this knowledge we can live our actual lives believing that we will have continued relevance because of our faith in a God who has the memory capacity to preserve and maintain us forever.  And most of us want God's memory of us to air brush those memories with the many touches of forgiveness.
  Today, let us accept the motivational excellence of this Easter feast.  Let us not feel inferior in always feeling "unfinished."  Let this unfinished feeling be but the evidence of more future perfection which beckons us more clearly because of the witness of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  So once again today, we state the most famous narrative of hope of all time, "Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia!

Requiem for the Demise of the Great Vigil of Easter

Easter Vigil   B      April 4, 2015

Ex.14:10 Canticle 8, Ez  36:24-28 Psalm 42:1-7

Rom.6:3-11         Mark 16:1-8

 Lectionary Link

  The practice of the Easter Vigil has gone the way of being like Civil War buffs who like to dress up and re-enact the old battles.  It is a very specialized crowd who like to do this sort of thing and those who do it really get into it.

  The Easter Vigil is observed similarly in contexts where people have the Easter Vigil tradition but for most modern Christians, an actual Vigil is an unbearable liturgical marathon.  The Easter Vigil has given way to Easter Sunday services which are conducted in the mid-morning time slot and can have Easter egg hunts added to them.  A Vigil that greets Easter morning at the midnight hour is not compatible with modern time sensibilities and family schedules, so in the guilt to keep alive the most important liturgy of the ancient church, many of us present the Cliff Notes version of the Vigil or just plain eliminate most of the long readings from the Hebrew Scriptures.  We use the Vigil to get the baptisms "out of the way" so as save time for the Principal Easter Service on Easter day, which is quite ironic since the ancient church regarded the Easter Vigil to be the Principal Service of Easter.

  If there are baptisms for the Vigil one can be assured of more attendance because of extended families being present to witness and support the baptismal candidates.  But if there are no baptisms, most members have to decide on whether to go to two Easter services or just to one during the Easter Day mid-morning hours.

  I am a realist about the practice of the Easter Vigil even as I am kind of sentimental because I remember the celebration of the Easter Vigil in my seminary community where everyone was completely committed to the celebratory event.  (Also attendance was mandatory). But as in many things, what has a very specialized interest in communities of theological geeks, does not have general interest in the lay populace of most parishes.

  We are who we are and the Easter Vigil practice is what it is for us as we on this Eve celebrate the founding event of our very community identity.

  So tonight we keep the skeletal remains of an Easter Vigil alive in hopes that it may one day may have a renewed general relevance to the lives of more people.  Part of the lack of interest in the Vigil has to do with modernity in the society.  We assume general literacy and we assume immediate accessibility to all Christian knowledge through books and Google.  An annual liturgy in an illiterate populace was a really big deal; it is not such a “big deal” for us since we are inundated by all kinds of word events all of the time.  Our learning and catechesis is continuous and on-going and not limited to a climactic event where the only ones who are educated in the community perform the words for a non-literate lay people.  This situation partly has driven the Vigil to be the preference of the few theological geeky specialists and re-enactors.

  But with this disclaimer let us at least seek renewal in the constituting designs of the Vigil.

  First, in darkness we light the new fire for the Paschal Candle and proclaim, “The Light of Christ.”  We admit that the learning process is the continual movement from darkness into light.  Aha! I see! Christ is witness of our Surpassing Selves; Our Surpassing Selves stand before us as the possibility of many more experiences of, “Aha, I see!”  So in the light of Christ, you and I stand hopeful for more future insights.  I can really honestly get excited about new future insights.  Can you?

  Second, we have been constituted by the words of our lives.  Words have formed our identities.  Not all words have been given to us with equal weight and authority.  The biblical words have been given a privileged weight in the formation of our identities.  In the Vigil readings we acknowledge our formation in the great words of our tradition and we join to do it again because we want to promulgate the importance and identity forming power of these words for ourselves and all into the future.

  Third, we intersperse words with the special genre of words which we call prayer.  And the prayers are topical; we seek to invoke God into every corner of our human experience and the offered prayers of the vigil is the practice of the priestliness of the entire church praying  together.

  Fourth, we baptize and we renew baptismal vows.  We acknowledge the specific time and place of our initiation into a tradition of believing that God created us, loves us, forgives us and asks us to love one another.  We gather to acknowledge that we are “recovering” hypocrites.  Why?  Our baptismal values are so high and ideal, we can’t possibility say that we have completed them.  We preach and make vows toward higher values than we have attained.  And so we profess our cheerful “recovering” in our hypocrisy.  We will not give up the difficulty of our attaining of our values even while we know that we are surely failing.

  Fifth, we welcome new members into our fellowship and we give them our best words of value about the meaning of their lives.  We celebrate that the Gospel has succeeded in each generation since the time of Jesus and so even though we are different from people in the past, we share with them the common Christ-humanity with them tonight.

  Sixth, we welcome the day of hope, the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.  We do it with a banquet meal, called Thanksgiving.  We are Thankful tonight that hope attained such a wonderful narrative in the resurrection of Christ.  We are thankful that we don’t have to “eat” alone.  We are thankful for this banquet meal given to us by Jesus to keep us together as the family of Christ and to be our constant aspiration for the entire world to be able to sit down at a table together in fellowship, with everyone having enough to eat and with everyone celebrating friendship and mutual regard because of the hope of Christ.

   Even though our Easter Vigil seems weak and impaired in our celebration of it, let us not forget the great constituting principles expressed in the Vigil liturgy.  We may escape attending a four hour Easter Vigil liturgy, we cannot escape the wonderful meanings of the Easter Vigil, the chief one being, “Alleluia, Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!  Amen.