May only truth be spoken here tonight, and may only truth be heard, in the name of God, Father (+), Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

No long sermon tonight, just a brief look at the liturgy in which we find ourselves.

The Great Easter Vigil: Tonight we come to this place to sit in vigil awaiting the great moment which is the Resurrection.

We enter the church, which is in darkness and gloom, signifying the tomb – the dark, empty tomb.  

We strike a spark and kindle a fire – a new fire.  The first thing that God created when he made the world was light.  “Let there be light.  And there was light.”  Out of darkness and nothingness God creates light and He saw the light and it was good.

We light a fire, to break the darkness of the tomb.

We bless a candle, the Paschal Candle, the candle that burns at every baptism, every funeral, every confirmation, every ordination… every major event in our lives as Christians.  This candle represents the presence of Christ in our midst.

Jesus is the light of our world; he is the pillar of fire that goes before us and lights our way in the darkness that is this world.  Jesus is our light, and our hope.

This light is then spread throughout the congregation; we each hold a part of that same flame to help enlighten our own personal darkness.  So that the light of this candle may be divided but undimmed, in fact the more it is divided the brighter it becomes.

Then a hymn of praise is sung.  The Exultet is one of our oldest and most glorious prayers.  To simply say this prayer, I don’t think, is enough.  For its power is only truly heard through song.

The Exultet sings to the world that our long Lenten journey is finally at an end!  The Exultet sings to the world that God has given us all the greatest gift of all time.  The Exultet sings to the world that Jesus Christ has destroyed the power of sin and death.  The Exultet sings to the world that Jesus is alive; he has been Resurrected!

We then hear our story as a people of faith; we journey through the stories of our salvation.  The Old Testament shows us where it was that we have come from.  They are interspersed with psalms and hymns to help us remember.

This is the night to baptize because it was during this night that our faith was confirmed with the Resurrection. 
Then, we all reaffirm our baptismal covenant.  We recommit ourselves to the life and ministry of being a Christian.  We recommit ourselves to the promises that were made at our own baptisms. 

With the blessed water and we are all sprinkled as a physical reminder of what it is that we have promised to be. It was on this night that our baptism became meaningful.  For on this night our sins are washed away and the power of death is taken from us.  So too do we wash away the sins of all who come to be baptized.

All of these things lead us into the great moment of the Eucharist, the First Eucharist if Easter: Where we, once again, faithfully reconnect the body of Christ and make communion with God and with each other.

May this great liturgy bring us closer to each other, closer to God, and closer to that day of salvation where we will all be one with Jesus living in the hope that is the Resurrection!

For as I read in a sermon for this night by the Rev. Ben Helmer, “In these times when we are beset by war, global instability… changing communities, and migrating populations, when there seems to be no solid earth on which we can stand, this liturgy reminds us that our true home is with the risen Jesus, our paradise is in what is to come, and our redemption has been accomplished. Now let us go forth and live it.”

Now to God the Father (+), God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, we ascribe all might, majesty, power, glory and dominion from this night forth and forever more.  Amen.