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Welcome dear Upper Room Community. The Easter Vigil is a culmination of our journey through the Forty Days of Lent, as we prepare ourselves to receive the understanding and blessing of Jesus’s path and of our existence here on Earth. Who are we called to be as Beings of Light ourselves?
We begin our holy reflection coming from Darkness to Light, illuminating like thousands of jewels flickering in the darkness. We are not alone, but just a small part of the bigger Community of Christ, waiting in the darkness and hoping for the light. We have been promised hope and love. We stand in faith for ourselves, and as an example for others unable or unwilling to listen to Spirit’s word in their lives.
Let us celebrate this sacred time together in Peace and Hope, following Jesus and The Way, Always together, never alone.
Opening Song: Holy Darkness by Dan Schutte
Refrain: Holy darkness, blessed night, heaven's answer hidden from our sight.
As we await you, O God of silence, we embrace your holy night.
I have tried you in fires of affliction; I have taught your soul to grieve.
In the barren soil of your loneliness, there will I plant my seed. Refrain
I have taught you the price of compassion; you have stood before the grave.
Though my love can seem like a raging storm, this is the love that saves. Refrain
In your deepest hour of darkness, I will give you wealth untold.
When the silence stills your spirit, will my riches fill your soul. Refrain
Blessing of the Fire: While Easter Candle is being lit.
Holy One,
You are the unfaltering
Creator of every light.
We bless this fire in your name,
For you are the light that never fails.
And we now invite you here in the Upper Room and on Zoom to light your own Easter Candle and respond as we sing:
Deb: Christ our Light. (Sung 3 times)
All: Thanks be to God. (Sung in response 3 times.)
Ellen: Exsultet: The Proclamation of Easter and Spring (revised by Denise Hackert-Stoner)
https://youtu.be/r0fKg4PlRkg?si=K2kqHVwV6VHESWIh
Exult! Let them exult, hosts of the Kin-dom!
Let the Holy One’s Angels exult,
Let the trumpet of renewal
Sound aloud Christ’s holy presence!
Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,
Ablaze with light from her eternal Love,
Let all corners of the earth be glad,
Knowing an end to winter’s gloom and darkness.
Rejoice, let all creation rejoice,
Arrayed with the lightning of their creator’s glory,
Let this holy universe shake with joy,
Filled with the mighty voices of whales and birds, people and crickets.
It is with ardent love in mind and heart
And with joyful shouts and songs
That we proclaim the rebirth of earth,
This re-creation of life rising from the darkness of winter.
Holy One, as we move and live in your Divine Love
We remember our brother Jesus,
Who likewise fell into the darkness of death
Only to have his Christ spirit rise like the spring grass.
This is the night
When the yoke of slavery was broken
And our forebears who had suffered so long
Sang with joy new songs of freedom.
This is the night
When a thousand small flames were
Raised in the hands of children
Hoping to end gun violence.
This is the night
When four women working for justice
Lost their lives to injustice
Only to have their Christ Spirits rise to inspire the work of others.
This is the night
When the Christ within all gathered here
Rises to fill this room, this earth,
This universe with new life.
This is the night
of which it is written:
“The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness”
Therefore, O Holy One,
we pray that this candle,
representing your light that shines in all creation,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome all darkness.
May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
The Christ within us and around us,
who has shed peaceful light on humanity,
and whose love shines forth forever. Amen.
Dear Upper Room Community, please put your light aside as we listen with anticipation to the sacred words of the Vigil.
LITURGY OF WORD
Reading 1: The Story of Salvation History
adapted from Hebrew Scriptures by Jay Murnane
In the beginning, there was only chaos and a void. God breathed life into it and said, "Let there be light." And there was light: sun and moon and stars in the heavens. There emerged vast bodies of water filled with live creatures. Then, birds flying across the breadth of the skies, and on the earth, reptiles and animals of every kind, color and shape. And all had a purpose. God saw what had come to be, and God found it very good.
God then said: "Let us make human beings in the divine image; women and men together to take care of all of this, and one another! When this was done, God viewed the whole of creation, and loved it, for it was very, very good.
But human beings did not take care of creation and each other. Human beings corrupted the good-ness of what God had made. Rain fell, a torrential, purifying rain, covering the earth and washing away all the corruption to which people had given birth. Only Noah, his family, and living creatures from every species on earth floated above the flood in an ark made of wood.
After forty days, the rain subsided, so that the water was no longer a flood, and the ark came to rest on high, dry ground. The people and the animals looked up into the sky and saw something beautiful. God said: "That is my rainbow, the sign of my presence with you and my love for you. It will forever be the sign of my relationship with you, and your responsibility to take care of creation, and each other."
From these survivors of the flood, creation was begun all over again. Many, many years went by and there were many gatherings of people all over the face of the earth. One of these was the people, Israel, and among all of God's precious people, the Jews were very precious. During a time of famine, the Jews were invited by the Egyptians, their neighbors, to share their land and their food. But some centuries after this hospitality, a cruel leader in Egypt forgot the old relationship and made the Jews into slaves.
They lived this way for a long time, until Moses came among them and risked his safety and security to convince the Jews that God loved them and wanted them to be free. So, they left Egypt, filled with the Spirit of God, led by Moses and Miriam through the desert in search of a new home where they could be free again.
During this difficult journey, they were often disillusioned and resentful, and they complained bitterly. Moses asked God for help, and God offered the ten commandments, so that the people might know the simplest possible way to love God and their fellow human beings. And from these survivors of oppression, Israel began all over again.
But the people forgot the simple way of God and were not always faithful, and at times they were as oppressive to each other and to strangers just as the Egyptians had been to them. They paid lip service to God, but their hearts were very far from God, and therefore, from justice and compassion.
These are the inspired reflections of our friend and mentor Jay Murnane, and we affirm them by saying AMEN!
Reading 2: Praise Yahweh who delivers us.
Psalm 113 – 114, Part of The Hallel. From the Inclusive Bible.
Alleluia!
You faithful of YHWH, give praise,
praise the Name of YHWH!
Blessed be the Name of YHWH,
from now and for all times!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
praised be the Name of YHWH!
You are high over all nations, YHWH!
Your glory transcends the heavens!
Who is like you, YHWH, our God?
Enthroned so high,
you need to stoop
to see the sky and the earth!
You raise the poor from the dust,
and lift the needy from the dung heap
to give them a place at the table with rulers,
with the leaders of your people.
You give the childless couple a home
filled with the joy of many children.
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
When Israel came out of Egypt,
from a people who spoke an alien tongue,
Judah became God’s Temple,
Israel became God’s domain.
The sea fled at the sight:
the Jordan turned back on its course,
the mountains leapt like rams,
and the hills like yearling sheep.
Why was it, sea, that you fled—
that you turned back, Jordan, on your course?
Mountains, why did you leap like rams—
you hills, like yearling sheep?
Earth, tremble before your Maker,
before the God of Israel,
who turned the rock into a pool of water
and flint into a bubbling fountain!
These are from the Psalms of David, and we affirm them by saying AMEN!
Reading 3: From Crucifixion and Resurrection, Mary Christine Athans
Mary Speaks:
God continued to bless us and shower us with gifts. How could we repay him? Even in our sorrow we sang, sometimes through our tears, Dayeinu! It would have been enough!
Had God brought us out of Egypt and not divided the sea for us, Dayeinu!
Had God divided the sea for us and not permitted us to cross the dry land,
Dayeinu!
Had God permitted us to cross the sea on dry land and not sustained us for 40 years, Dayeinu!
Had God sustained us in the desert and not fed us with manna, Dayeinu!
Had God fed us with manna and not given us the Sabbath, Dayeinu!
Had God given us the Sabbath but not brought us to Mount Sinai, Dayeinu!
Had God brought us to Mount Sinai but not given us the Torah, Dayeinu!
Had God given us the Torah and not led us to the land of Israel, Dayeinu!
Had God led us to the land of Israel and not built for us the temple, Dayeinu!
Had God built for us the temple but not sent to us the prophets of truth, Dayeinu!
Had God sent us the prophets of truth and not made us a holy people, Dayeinu!
Somehow, on this special night, I could not stop there. In my heart I continued to sing.
Had God given me such a beautiful baby but not let us escape to Egypt, it would have been enough!
Had God let us escape to Egypt but not find our way back to Galilee, it would have been enough!
Had God let us find him at the temple but not allowed him to return with us to Nazareth, it would have been enough!
Had God let him return with us to Nazareth but not let him begin his ministry of preaching, it would have been enough!
Had God let him begin his ministry of preaching but not heal the sick and feed the hungry, it would have been enough!
Had God allowed him to heal the sick and feed the hungry but not let him give his life for us, it would have been enough!
How could I ever thank God for the gift of Jesus?
These are the anticipated words of Mary of Nazareth from the writing of Mary Christine Athans, and we affirm them by saying, AMEN.
Reading 4: From the sacred writing, Tell Them by Edwina Gateley
Breaking through the powers of darkness
Bursting from the stifling tomb
He slipped into the graveyard garden
To smell the blossomed air.
Tell them, Mary, Jesus said,
That I have journeyed far
Into the darkest deeps I've been
in nights without a star.
Tell them, Mary, Jesus said,
That fear will flee my light
That though the ground will tremble
And despair will stalk the earth
I hold them firmly by the hand
Through terror to new birth.
Tell them, Mary, Jesus said,
The globe and all that's made,
Is clasped to God's great bosom
They must not be afraid
For though they fall and die, he said,
And the black earth wrap them tight
They will know the warmth
of God's healing hands
in the early morning light.
Tell them, Mary, Jesus said,
Smelling the blossomed air,
Tell my people to rise with me,
To heal the Earth's despair.
These words are the poetic vision of Edwina Gately, and we affirm them by saying, AMEN.
Alleluia: Easter Alleluia by Joel Raney
Gospel: Mark 16:1-7
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be afraid! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”
These sacred words are from the Gospel of Mark. We affirm them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter: Deb Trees
In a book called The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness and Peace by Jack Kornfield, I read the following and knew it was for our time today:
“Love does not grandstand. Like water, it is humble and unstoppable. Love does not try to fix the whole world. It is enough to plant seeds of kindness and justice everywhere we can.”
Here is what our Jesus did. In his time, he planted the seeds of love, where laws and kindness were not easily justified. His vision was in the here and now, the Paradise of Love, of community, of caring for one another.
Water is our very Life Force. It enters our lives in many ways – as vapor in our midst, as ice and snow, hard and seemingly unyielding, as liquid that flows. Love is our Life Force too, and in our following of Jesus and The Way, we make ourselves ready to be fully present in all we do, unyielding where needed, flowing as we see the opportunity.
As Mother Teresa says, “I can only love one person at a time. Just one… just one, So you begin… I begin”.
Jesus did the same, and then did the next step. He gave his life in the witness of this Love. I believe that he understood the Resurrection would help us to know that we are not alone. He leads us now, even today.
As we consider this beautiful experience of Resurrection, please share your experience as God calls you today. And thank you for each of you in our lives together.
Baptismal Renewal for Each of Us.
Deb: Creator of our Lives, wash over us as we bless our very selves, and our space, nurturing our existence. Cleanse us of our preconceived ideas that blind us to your Love and Presence. Keep us fortified and give us Joy as we acknowledge You in our Life. We live to fulfill your Holy Dream. In the name of Peace and Love and Grace. AMEN.
Please bless yourself with holy water as we bless each other here in the Upper Room.
As we renew our commitment, let us be united with all our sisters and brothers across our world, who are baptized this very night.
Do you promise to see what is good for your sisters and brothers everywhere, rejecting injustice and inequity and living with the freedom and responsibility of children of God?
All: Yes!
Do you promise to work for the realization of God’s vision of harmony and right relations among people and peoples, rejecting the idols of money and property and color and sex and position?
All: Yes!
Do you promise to seek peace and live in peace in one human family, rejecting prejudice and half-heartedness in every form, and all barriers to unity?
All: Yes!
Do you promise to cherish the universe, and this precious planet, working creatively to renew and safeguard the elemental sacraments of air, earth, and water?
All: Yes!
Do you believe in God, the Creator: in whom we live, move and have our being; in Jesus, the simple servant of justice and love who lived among us so that all might live with abundant fullness; in the breath of God, the Spirit who continues the work of forgiveness and reconciliation, birthing and blessing, challenge and hope, so that together we can continue the work of creation?
All: Yes!
Prayers of the Community
As we prepare for this sacred meal, we bring our blessings, cares and concerns to the table beginning with the words I bring to the table.
We pray for these blessings, cares, and concerns, and all the unspoken intentions of our hearts…Amen.
LITURGY OF EUCHARIST
Friends, our God is present; let us pray together in thanksgiving!
O Holy One, you are always with us.
We celebrate your gift of life! In wonder, we stand in the beauty, abundance and variety of creation.
We remember Jesus, the Galilean teacher: who took children in his arms and blessed them, who cared for those who were poor, who cured sick people and wept with those who were sad. He taught us how to forgive and live as one with you and all creation.
On this special night, we remember Jesus, the Christ, who rose from the tomb of darkness and death. We remember those first witnesses to this event: the women who went to bless and anoint his body, and then courageously told the others what they had experienced.
You invite us to be “resurrected people” who participate and co-create in making all things new in our world.
We stand in the presence of all those joyous troubadours and our ancestors in faith. Together with all of creation, we dance and sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
HOLY ONE, may your presence here open our minds
may your Spirit among us help us to find you are rising up now
like a fountain of grace from the holy ground
here in this place, here in this place.
Holy, holy, holy God of love and majesty
the whole universe speaks of your glory
from the holy ground here in this place, here in this place.
We are ever aware of your Spirit in creation. Intensify your Spirit anew in these simple gifts of bread and wine and in us, that we might truly be the Christ presence rising in our world.
On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with the people closest to him. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly, he bent down and washed their feet like a lowly household servant.
When he returned to his place at the table, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, this is my very self.
At the end of the meal, Jesus took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink; whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.
Please share the Bread of Life saying, In Spirit, you are borne again with Jesus.
God Beyond All Names by Bernadette Farrell
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died in all who have died.
Christ is rising within us and in all who work for justice and promote kindness and peace.
Christ is present with us everywhere.
Be nourished and savor the goodness of God! We acknowledge the God beyond our understanding, and our existence, AMEN.
Let us pray as Jesus taught:
O Holy one who is within, around and among us.
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come; your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us, now and forever, Amen.
(Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter)
BLESSING
Let us raise our hands and bless each other, with these words:
May we know ourselves as God’s beloved each and every day!
May we be Easter people and beacons of light in our world!
May our encounters with the Risen One prompt us to respond generously, tenderly and extravagantly!
Indeed, may our living and loving be a blessing in our time! AMEN!
Closing Song: Glory to God by Marty Haugen
https://youtu.be/udjH7EON5IY?si=YeATINLEO9V9i5ZT
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