I remember the first time I ever went to the Great Vigil of Easter.
I was home from college to celebrate Easter with my family. The previous summer I had served at a small start-up church in Alabama, St. Catherine's in Chelsea. I had become close with their priest, The Rev. John Mark Ford, and he told me St. Catherine's would be celebrating the Great Vigil of Easter after the sun set on Holy Saturday. I wasn't familiar with the service at that point in time, and I was curious to experience it at this church I'd grown to love.
It was a powerful experience. After hearing the breadth of salvation history from the start of Scripture to the Gospel, it felt like Easter had really come in a way I've never felt with the Easter morning services. We truly walked the journey to salvation with the ancient Israelites. We were present with those at the tomb as Jesus was Resurrected from the dead. We lived into our own journey through the reminder of the Baptismal Covenant. The power of the light in darkness from the Paschal Candle reminded us of the hope that Jesus Christ provides as the light in our own lives.
The Easter Vigil is one of the oldest services of the church. It originally was combined with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday as a three day celebration of the death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins. Like Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, it is designed to help us live into these key moments in Jesus' life and in our salvation.
The Great Vigil of Easter is hands down my favorite service of the church year. The Vigil has been such a powerful experience of my life that I have continued to attend it every year. It has been my greatest privilege to celebrate it all these years since my ordination.
If you are looking for something new to experience this year for Easter, let me recommend attending the Easter Vigil. It will help you better live into Christ Jesus' saving work through His Resurrection. It will help renew your Faith. It will help you feel you have truly celebrated the Great Feast of Easter.
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| Afterwards on my 1st year celebrating the Great Vigil of Easter |