Marked as Christ's Own, Forever
The Reverend Shearon Sykes Williams for Easter Vigil with Holy Baptism, April 8th, 2023.
“Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. “
What a joy, what an exquisite and wondrous privilege it is to proclaim these words on this most holy night, the night we celebrate Christ’s passing from death to new life. We began tonight shrouded in darkness, a darkness pierced only by the light of the Paschal candle. When then lit our candles from it as a reminder that our light comes from Christ. We heard the Exultet , sung so beautifully by our Minister of Music, Ben Keseley. This lyrical, mystical chant was written specifically for the Easter Vigil and has been sung on this night for over 1,800 years. It has been chanted in all kinds of situations. It has been sung in wartime as people huddled around the Paschal candle in the darkness, longing for peace. It has been sung by faithful people gathered in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life as loved ones are near death. It has been sung by parents, godparents, family members and the whole church family as children are about to be baptized. Exultet means “rejoice” and rejoicing in the light of Christ transcends and transforms all circumstances. “Rejoice now, heavenly hosts and choirs of angels.” “Rejoice and sing now, all the round earth,” “Rejoice and be glad now, Mother Church, and let your holy courts in radiant light, resound with the praises of your people.” It just doesn’t get any better than that .
After the Exultet, we recounted the entire arc of salvation history, from creation, to God’s covenant with the Israelites, to the prophets, and finally, finally we proclaimed the first alleluias of Easter with great fanfare. And if that wasn’t enough, in just a few moments we will baptize Hannah Margaret Lilly Otto into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we celebrate tonight. What a joy, what a delight.
Hannah is a very precious child, just as all children are precious gifts from God. And Hannah, thanks to her mother, Allison, is already very experienced in what it means to be part of “Mother Church.” Hannah has been attending Saint George’s since she was about 6 weeks old. She has met everybody at our 10:30 Sunday service and beyond. She has her own nametag that is almost as big as she is. She even had her little feet washed at her first Maundy Thursday service two nights ago. Maundy Thursday is when we remember Jesus’ symbolic action as he got up from the table during his last meal with his disciples on the night before he was betrayed and condemned to death and washed their feet . After he had done this he told them, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. “
Hannah has already begun to experience what it means to serve and to be served, to love and to be loved. She is being baptized on the night that was originally THE night, the ONLY night that people were baptized. So tonight we are part of something very old and at the same time very new. Hannah will learn and grow and be formed in her faith within this community. We will teach her and she will teach all of us. When each new person is baptized, our community is different. Hannah will bring her own gifts, her own insights, her own questions, her own way of being, and we will all be changed as a result. What a blessing it is to love and be loved in a community centered on the death and resurrection of Christ. That means we are with each other through thick and thin, in times of suffering and in times of great joy. We know that death does not have the last word. Resurrection is always close at hand. The story of salvation history wraps around us as we gather, week in and week out, proclaiming over and over and over again, “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. “ That is the defining narrative of our lives. As Hannah goes through the challenges and joys of growing up, we will be there, shining the light for her and with her. We are marking her as “Christ’s own forever” tonight. Think about that. Christ’s own forever!
Saint Paul tells us in his Letter to the Romans, “Do you know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him into death, so that , just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
This is the unshakeable foundation that we build our lives upon and gives our lives meaning. Whatever losses we experience, we know that Christ died once and for all so that we would not be overcome by grief and despair. When someone we love dies, Christ is there, offering us life. When a cherished relationship goes through dark times, Jesus is with us, holding the light. When we lose a job, or don’t get into our first choice for college, or go through any disappointment or hardship, Jesus is there reminding us that we belong to him and he belongs to us. We are marked as Christ’s own forever. Through baptism, we have an unbreakable bond with him and with each other. Tonight we join with the heavenly hosts, choirs of angels, and all creation as we proclaim the eternal message of Mother Church. Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!