A lot goes on at the Easter Vigil
The Easter Vigil, between the emotion of Good Friday and the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday, is one of those services usually attended by only a few people, but that is when it all happens!
It begins outside with the Holy Fire, symbolising the light and glory of the Resurrection. (Lighting the fire can be a challenge – will it light and if it does which direction will the wind be coming from. It was a calm night and Jeremy lit the fire and then the wind came up and sparks flew!)
From this sacred flame the Pascal Candle is lit. The flame of the Paschal candle symbolizes the eternal presence of Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the Light of the World in the midst of his people, the Light which darkness has never overcome. Five nails are then added to the Candle symbolising the five wounds on Christ’s body. The candle also includes the year, 2022, representing the “today” in “Christ, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
We each had a candle which was lit from the Paschal Candle and as we processed into church we picked up a percussion instrument. The Vigil continued with a series of Scripture readings that describe the story of God’s salvation of his people. The readings begin with Genesis, the first book of the Bible, through the story of the story of Moses and the Israelites fleeing from slavery in Egypt, followed by readings from Jeremiah and Ezekiel, reminding us of God’s promises to us and culminating with the story in Luke’s gospel of the women finding the empty tomb. And then we all shouted “Christ is risen” and as the organ started for the hymn “Sing choirs of heaven!” we made a glorious noise with bells, and drums and tambourines!
