Easter Vigil Homily at Christ Church, Alameda Saturday, April 11th 2020

If God had a greatest hits album, it might be called “The Great Vigil of Easter.” Tonight, we heard passages from the record of God's saving deeds in history, how God saved God’s people in ages past. From creating everything to raising Jesus from the dead. These records of course were put together over many, many, many years and like all legendary performers, God and her backup singers, God’s people, experience a lot of hardship, suffer from poor editing, the band breaks up a few times, agents and managers come and go and yet these classics still hold up. Millions of people are still listening, especially tonight. Despite and perhaps because of these hard times we want to be, and maybe we need to be, reminded of why we became fans in the first place.

While the exact details and timing of God’s act of creation are still being researched, our spiritual ancestors, thousands of years ago, wrote a poetic origin story asserting that, "all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful the Lord God made them all." Genesis Chapter 1 tells us that humankind was made in the Divine’s image and fortunately for us with better proportions and anatomy than Barbie Dolls. Thank you to the Jensen family for your creative and playful retelling. On this night, we give thanks for God’s magnificent artistry and find comfort in knowing that like our forebears, there’s something of the Divine in each of us.

Stories of great floods, like the one Noah and his ark encountered, have been told for millennia by many different peoples all over the world. The Book of Genesis tells us that our spiritual ancestors considered a huge flood the Creator’s response to humanity’s widespread corruption and violence. Fortunately, instead of giving up on humans altogether, the Divine works in partnership with the righteous Noah to reboot all life with the help of a huge boat. During an enormous march in New York City a few years ago, the interfaith community processed together down city streets with a giant ark to symbolize their collective commitment to saving planetary life from the floods of the climate crisis. Alisa, Iris, Viola and Wally did a superb job with 2 their colorful array of toys, thank you to Wally also for helping us behind the scenes with tonight’s service.

The parting of the red sea is so important to the folks who crafted the vigil liturgy that the prayer book rubric reads, “At least two of the following Lessons are read, of which one is always the Lesson from Exodus.” In other words, God’s liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery with the help of an insecure fella with an odd voice and a clever dancing sister is foundational. Everything else builds on this: God responds to human suffering with compassion, in addition to helping the slaves escape Pharaoh, the Divine establishes a long- term contract with God’s people. They are going to make a lot of epic music together. Thanks to the Boones & the Quiñonez-Brooks families for their inventive and magical contributions to this evening’s gathering.

Tonight, the story of the Exodus was followed by the haunting and transcendent vision of Ezekiel in the valley of the dry bones. The Wassons’ minimalist yet transcendent approach using stick figures anticipates how God’s power over death blurs the lines between this world and the next. Their choice of imagery reminds us, like the story itself, simultaneously of ancient cave paintings and contemporary art. Tonight, amidst the grief and ongoing struggle over COVID-19, we may all be asking ourselves in some way “can these bones live?”

Our medley of the high points of the Hebrew Bible closes with a reading from the scroll of Zephaniah by the McHale Siblings and a whole pasture of animals. The prophet expresses a hopeful vision where a faithful remnant of humanity who “do no wrong and utter no lies” shall flourish, where oppressors will be dealt with and the outcast and the sick shall be made whole.

Finally, we heard the audacious message of Jesus’ resurrection that the Helms’ beautifully brought to us also using the ancient script of graffiti. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary become the earliest messengers of Christ’s defying death. Jesus even greets them on the road, reminding us that we’ll be seeing him out there too.

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Earlier in this evening’s service, we reaffirmed our faith. We committed to gather, to persevere in resisting evil, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to love our neighbor as ourselves. We pledged allegiance to the God of life, to the God that created us, stays with us, liberates, challenges, inspires and resurrects us. Tomorrow is Easter day and we will celebrate an empty tomb. May we also find encouragement to share the powerful stories of God’s Greatest Hits not only in an ancient text, but in our lives.

Thank you to all those who helped us proclaim God’s saving deeds in history; clearly, this congregation is training the next generation of God’s roadies. May our collective remembering this evening help us each find inspiration, courage, community and faith amidst this profoundly difficult time. Certainly, our spiritual ancestors confronted powerful viruses, frightening circumstances and tremendous injustice. Powerful stories told and sung --those shared tonight and innumerable others--helped them get through. As we live into our baptismal promises, may we find that together, we lived some powerful stories and sung some as well. Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

Preached Saturday, April 11th 2020 by the Rev. Will Scott, Associate Rector at Christ Church, Alameda