Easter Vigil
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
(Note: Details about the Easter Vigil are included in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A. In addition, it should be said that baptism is the sign and sacrament of the Christian Passover, Jesus' death and resurrection. In this sacrament, people are "sealed by the Holy Spirit" into the body of Christ, the church, and are "marked with the Cross of Christ forever." The importance of emphasizing the renewal of the baptismal covenant as a key element in the Easter celebration is simply that God, once more, renews his new covenant in Christ with the faithful. The God, who has given his Son to die for the world, affirms in the Easter event that he will love his people forever. At the same time, the people of God renew their baptismal vows, resolving that, through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in their lives, they will lead new lives in obedience to Jesus' command, "Be perfect, even as I am perfect." Since the Sacrament of Holy Baptism is followed up by the Holy Meal, at which the living Lord is the Host, the Easter worship is more than the declaration of the resurrection - "He is risen" - and the singing of a few of the lovely Easter hymns, it is the actual participation in the resurrection of Jesus Christ right now through the word and the sacrament of font and table.
A Sermon on Baptism, Mark 10:39b
The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized....
In The Militant Ministry, Hans Reudi Weber reconstructs what Holy Baptism might have been like on the Island of Rhodes in the early Christian church. The members and candidates gathered about a large cross carved into a flat rock on the top of a mountain just be-fore dawn on Easter. The candidates were placed on the western side of the cross, there to undergo the final part of their examination and exorcism. Just as the sun began to rise, they were led - one by one - down three steps into the water-filled cross and asked the three-fold question, "Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty.... and in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord, ... and in the Holy Spirit ...?" Three times each person replied, "I believe," and each time (the candidate) was immersed completely - "drowned" - in the water of the cross-font. The newly baptized came up out of the chilly water and climbed out of the cross by way of the steps on the eastern arm - just as the first rays of the sun were announcing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Confirmation followed and then they joined the congregation in the Easter Eucharist at the Table of the Lord. If Weber is at all accurate in this attempt to show what baptism was like in the early church, it is safe to conclude that those people never forgot their baptism and the meaning of baptism in their lives. No wonder they were willing to live, even die, for their faith in Jesus Christ! (This was taken from a sermon, "Baptism - A Gift of God," in my first book on baptismal preaching, Plastic Flowers in the Holy Water. A somewhat similar reconstruction was done by Martin Marty in his book, Baptism. He uses the "apostolic traditions" of Hippolytus for his reconstruction.)
1. Jesus' baptism, begun in the Jordan River, was only completed when he died on the cross at Calvary. Early in his ministry, he could say - looking toward the cross - "I have a baptism to be baptized with." Christ our passover is sacrificed for us!
2. Our baptism - like that of Jesus - will not be completed until we die. The resurrection of our Lord reassures us and gives us hope that we, too, will be raised up to everlasting life.
3. Through the renewal of our baptism on Easter, we die through repentance and rise to a new life - a life of love, obedience, daily repentance, renewal, and caring service in the name of the Lord.
4. At the table of othe Lord, we not only "proclaim his death until he comes again," but the living Lord also joins us in this special meal, feeds us, and gives us joy, hope, and peace. We know that in our baptism, God has made an eternal covenant with us and that because he lives, we too shall live forever with him.
A Sermon on Baptism, Mark 10:39b
The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized....
In The Militant Ministry, Hans Reudi Weber reconstructs what Holy Baptism might have been like on the Island of Rhodes in the early Christian church. The members and candidates gathered about a large cross carved into a flat rock on the top of a mountain just be-fore dawn on Easter. The candidates were placed on the western side of the cross, there to undergo the final part of their examination and exorcism. Just as the sun began to rise, they were led - one by one - down three steps into the water-filled cross and asked the three-fold question, "Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty.... and in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord, ... and in the Holy Spirit ...?" Three times each person replied, "I believe," and each time (the candidate) was immersed completely - "drowned" - in the water of the cross-font. The newly baptized came up out of the chilly water and climbed out of the cross by way of the steps on the eastern arm - just as the first rays of the sun were announcing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Confirmation followed and then they joined the congregation in the Easter Eucharist at the Table of the Lord. If Weber is at all accurate in this attempt to show what baptism was like in the early church, it is safe to conclude that those people never forgot their baptism and the meaning of baptism in their lives. No wonder they were willing to live, even die, for their faith in Jesus Christ! (This was taken from a sermon, "Baptism - A Gift of God," in my first book on baptismal preaching, Plastic Flowers in the Holy Water. A somewhat similar reconstruction was done by Martin Marty in his book, Baptism. He uses the "apostolic traditions" of Hippolytus for his reconstruction.)
1. Jesus' baptism, begun in the Jordan River, was only completed when he died on the cross at Calvary. Early in his ministry, he could say - looking toward the cross - "I have a baptism to be baptized with." Christ our passover is sacrificed for us!
2. Our baptism - like that of Jesus - will not be completed until we die. The resurrection of our Lord reassures us and gives us hope that we, too, will be raised up to everlasting life.
3. Through the renewal of our baptism on Easter, we die through repentance and rise to a new life - a life of love, obedience, daily repentance, renewal, and caring service in the name of the Lord.
4. At the table of othe Lord, we not only "proclaim his death until he comes again," but the living Lord also joins us in this special meal, feeds us, and gives us joy, hope, and peace. We know that in our baptism, God has made an eternal covenant with us and that because he lives, we too shall live forever with him.
