The Great Vigil of Easter

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.