Easter Vigil, 2022
Passover 2022
I was listening to a story the other day featuring a priest and a rabbi doing Ministry in Ukraine. The occasion is on the one hand the war in Ukraine and on the other the occasion of Passover and Easter. One of the things that was asked of the two was what their message would be to their congregation this Easter / Passover. The priest talked about how Jesus was concerned with Justice, particularly in the context of such an unjust War as we have in Ukraine. He referred to Jesus overturning the tables in the temple. Jesus clearly had parties that he argued with – I hesitate saying enemies, because as the priest said, Jesus never pursued a vendetta. He was always ready to forgive.
For him, Jesus's heart would be on those who are being unjustly murdered and savaged in Ukraine.
The rabbi remembered a line from the Passover liturgy that directs that everyone should consider that they were redeemed from Egypt.
“_B’chol dor vador, chayav adam lir’ot et atzmo, k’illuhu yatzah mimitzrayim_…
בְּכָל דוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָיב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִצְרָיִם "In every generation one must look upon himself as if he personally had gone out of Egypt." (Pesachim 116b)
The rabbi, then, would remind his congregation of their deep affinity and empathy with anyone who is a refugee, anyone who is a stranger in a strange land. Jewish congregations hand in hand with Orthodox Christians.
Passover throughout the world began on Good Friday evening. Interestingly we are also in the midst of Islam's month of fasting – Ramadan. This is a holy time for all three Abrahamic religions: Passover, Easter, Ramadan. The Ukrainian priest reminded the listeners that in the Orthodox Church – and through the Romance languages – Easter is called pasch, from the word "Passover."
This is the time of Passover. At the Eucharist we say, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”
What makes this night special?
One of the main focal points of the traditional Passover seder is the maggid, the telling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. This story begins with the youngest person at the seder asking the Four Questions (Mah Nishtanah). These questions provide the impetus for telling why this night is different from all other nights.
From the Exsultet:
This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land.
This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life.
This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.
This night we tell the story – the whole story
I’ve been a sucker for ambitious stories that try to paint the big picture. When I was growing up there was the Greatest Story Ever Told. There was Around the World in 80 Days. More recent repeat there is the great physicist Stephen Hawking telling the big picture in language all of us can understand. A Brief History of Time. The universe in a nutshell. That is taking the big picture.
We're taking that kind of perspective tonight. From in the beginning to the end of all things. Sometimes as a parent I felt like that's what I wanted to do with my children I wanted to tell them the whole story. What's it all about.
What's it all about Alfie
In 1966 Dionne Warwick sang a song for the movie “Alfie”
Is it just for the moment we live
What's it all about
When you sort it out, Alfie
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind? … Songwriters: David Hal / Bacharach Burt F
Why is this night special
We should ask that question with our Jewish brothers and sisters as they ask it at their Passover meals: Why is this night special?
The angels –if we can hear them – give us the answers: If we can hear them over the voices of the people we are paying attention to while the angels sing around us.
This night is special because on it we remember the time that the women entered the tomb and discovered the first inkling of our ultimate deliverance. The women looked at the empty tomb and they went, “Wait! What?” This is not at all what they expected.
This night is blessed because we remember and make present before our very eyes, the wonder and innocence of children, seeing not just a bright shining star but the promise of the approaching day.
This night is holy because it gives us permission to wonder if the impossible is not just possible but present before our very eyes.
This night is like no other because it allows us to look at our neighbor, no matter the color, no matter the financial standing, whether they are responsible or not, the fallen, the vulnerable, even the rich and the successful – it allows us to look at our neighbor and ask: How can I help?
The answer we give to the question about this night is the answer to the question: What truly matters? The answer we give might be pleasing to God. It might not be to our liking. We most certainly will have fallen short even of the expectations we place on ourselves.
But however our answers go, no matter how well we hear the angels sing, what we proclaim tonight provides all the evidence we need to end our days, saying – in response to the question, “Did you get what you wanted out of life?” – Yes! The Lord is Risen! Indeed!
This night
That's what we're doing tonight with an even bigger perspective. War and Peace. Love. Victory over death.
It's a big view that we take tonight. And what we need is a big enough view of God to make sense of it.
We light up the fire in the church – on purpose. There is a new fire and a new light that has come into the world. Tonight we proclaim that and symbolically enact that.
“This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.”
That's the big picture we take tonight.
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