i'll endure the night...

for the promise of light

 

Are you ready?

It is time to hear the next story.

The darkness is turning to light. We've brought the light into this place.

We are now ready to hear the next story...

The Holy Gospel according to St. John!

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken The Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Then Peter and the other disciples set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must raise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (Which means teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father and your Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God!" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen The Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her."

The Gospel of The Lord!

 

When we left that dim place, I said there were three more stories. There are two left, we've heard the first of the last three stories.

That story of the first morning, while it was still dark - like now - Mary went to that tomb.

During that dark night - like now - something had happened - like now...

-Can you feel it - something is happening - right now.

That first day of the week, in the dark hours of the morning, Mary went to that tomb to mourn the death of her Lord;

only the tomb was empty!

The darkness was being turned to light, death was transformed into life.

Now, after we've heard that story of our Lord, there are still two stories left to tell.

Are you ready to hear them?

The next story, this second story, has many parts.

The next story is the story of this place, of Trinity.

The next story is our life together, here.

The next story is our past, and also your past.

That second story has the part when the fire that happened one evening, and the resurrection that followed.

The resurrection of a new building erected; the very building we're in right now. We are gathered in a place of resurrection, an empty tomb if you will.

There is that story, when darkness was turned to light, when what has been was transformed into what will be.

 

Or there was the tragic death of our Pastor, Chuck.

And there is his resurrection; because just as surely as Jesus said Mary's name and she recognized her Lord; so Jesus said Chuck's name and he recognized his Lord too, and he rose.

That is not all there is to our second story, though. There is each one of your stories.

 

The story of all of the factors that bring you here on this Holy evening. The saints who came before you. The time you peeked in that tomb to find there wasn't a body, but instead angels asking why you weep.

Now, I could go on and on and rehash our stories of old, that second story.

 

Indeed, there is much good in that, retelling our stories of the past. Yes, there is a time to tell our stories - although I think it is most preferable to share those stories while sitting with a good drink and friends, not in the pew.

See the story that is begging to be told now, the interesting story on this eve, is the third story.

The story of what comes next...

Where does Trinity's story go from here?

Where does your story go from here?

Tonight you came here, you gathered here as the light was failing. You came into this dark place; and together we told the stories.

We vigiled, trusting that there was more than just this darkness, trusting that the darkness would not last - that the light would come.

In that dark room we sat hearing stories; until it was time.

Time to hear that story, the story.

We listened until it was time, time to change the darkness into light.

So we left that room. We left and went into the darkness outside.

There we lit a fire.

Suddenly that fire transformed the darkness.

And we brought the light into this place - and now this place shines with the luster of the resurrection fire.

We saw it, we saw the darkness changed to light.

And when we see that, like Mary we're sent to tell others what we have seen.

So that, that sisters and brothers is the third story, the last story this evening, and frankly it is the interesting story.

 

What comes next?

How does the rest of this story go?

 

What will you do?

Where will you carry the light?

Where will we shine Jesus' light into the darkness?

These are not only interesting and exciting questions, they are important questions.

These question are important because you see it is no accident that we celebrate Easter now, this eve.

Now is the first Sunday, after the first full moon of Spring.

Tonight answers that great fear among the ancients, that deep fear the night, a terrible fear the winter, would go on forever...

Now, as the nights finally begin to get shorter and the days grow longer; the very world celebrates the light returning with us. Light comes into the world and transforms the darkness into light.

 

Millennia later, though, we're not terribly different from the ancients, are we? There still is that shuddering fear that things will get darker and darker, until there is nothing.

We know this fear.

We also know the longing that the fear of a triumph by the darkness creates in us, in the world.

There is a deep longing in us all

for light,

for love,

for hope.

 

And this eve, oh this eve, we proclaim that, indeed, the light triumphs over the dark.

That there is reason to hope.

That there is love.

That is why we vigiled.

Could it be true, that the light triumphs over the darkness?

And so we vigiled, waiting for the answer.

 

And we saw it, we carried it, the fire that turns the darkness into light, into this place, this place of resurrection.

That light, the light of Christ.

The light that bursts from the grave.

We've seen that light.

We've watched the darkness turned to light,

watched what has been transformed into what will be,

watched death transformed into life.

Amen!

So here is why the last story is not over:

The light is not meant to stay in this place, is it?

The world longs, the world thirst, the world wants to hope.

We know this.

We've known the longing, we've known the thirsting, we've known the craving for reason to hope.

And tonight especially, we remember, we proclaim, that our longing, our thirsting, our craving has been met.

Our longing has been met in that glorious light, and that is healing, it is good news.

Tonight our vigil is answered. Now we, like Mary, must go to a world that longs for its vigil to be answered.

We came here under the dark of night.

That darkness was transformed, though, wasn't it?

 

And here is the great secret of this eve, this vigil:

We get to continue turning darkness to light.

Now we go into a world longing for death to be transformed into life.

We go into this world with a message.

We go into this world proclaiming, "lean in, I have a secret: I've seen the darkness turned to light."

And we show others.

We turn their darkness to light.

Before we brought the light into this place, we gathered around a fire.

Now we have turned this very building into that same fire of Christ that was outside.

Soon we leave here, leave here not the same, leave here as sparks - from the fire we're burning as right now!

Soon we leave here as sparks sharing the light of Christ with the world.

Before I let you sparks loose on the world, though.

Our story here must continue.

We have someone to cloth with Christ yet,

We have a meal to share still.

Those first, then we burst from here.

Amen.