Year A<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vigil<\/strong> At the Eucharist<\/strong> May the words of my mouth, O God, speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some years ago\u2026 here in Grand Rapids\u2026 Joel and I went to an evening lecture at the offices of the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church\u2026 and which was sponsored by the LGBT Christian support group GIFT\u2026 Gays in Faith Together\u2026 Two Churches’ Lauren McIntyre currently serves as the board President\u2026 though the story I want to tell wasn’t under her watch\u2026 but Joel and I went\u2026 because the speakers were two Jewish men\u2026 who were going to talk about the Exodus\u2026 the setting free of the Israelites from slavery\u2026 and after all of the introductions were made\u2026 and an overview of the evening was presented\u2026 one of the speakers asked if anyone was willing to share a few sentences about the basic story line of that historical event\u2026 and there were about eighteen people there\u2026 and except for the two speakers\u2026 and Joel and me\u2026 none of the other fourteen or so people even seemed to know what the story was about\u2026 it didn’t seem as though any of them were just being shy\u2026 because there were blank stares and short-lived awkward silences\u2026 as though at least some of them thought they ought to know something about it\u2026 ] and maybe none of them had read that part of the Bible\u2026 but apparently none of them had seen Cecile B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments either\u2026 that in itself would have been enough of a primer\u2026 but no\u2026 no one could muster even that\u2026 I felt distressed\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Episcopal guidelines for tonight’s Vigil\u2026 there are nine readings from which to choose\u2026 and at least two are to be read\u2026 and one of the two must always be the reading we just heard from Exodus\u2026 about Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea\u2026 in Lutheran guidelines\u2026 there are twelve readings from which to choose\u2026 and at least four are to be read\u2026 four which are never omitted\u2026 and one of the four must always be the reading from Exodus about Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea\u2026 because the Exodus story has more than one layer of truth\u2026 because what happened there was pivotal\u2026 and it was led by a man who was simply following God’s will\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Torah\u2026 the name “Moses” comes from a Hebrew verb\u2026 which means… to pull out of<\/em>\u2026 or\u2026 to draw out of<\/em> \u2026 but not out of just anything\u2026 but out of water\u2026 and the infant Moses was given this name by Pharaoh’s daughter some years after she rescued him from the Nile\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to Exodus 2:5-10\u2026 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river\u2026 while her attendants walked beside the river she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it\u2026 when she opened it\u2026 she saw the child\u2026 he was crying and she took pity on him\u2026 This must be one of the Hebrews\u2019 childre<\/em>n… she said\u2026 then his sister [ Miriam ]\u2026 said to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter\u2026 Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you<\/em>\u2026 Pharaoh\u2019s daughter said to her\u2026 Yes<\/em>\u2026 so the girl went and called the child\u2019s mother [ Jochebed ]\u2026 Pharaoh\u2019s daughter said to her\u2026 Take this child and nurse it for me\u2026 and I will give you your wages<\/em>\u2026 so the woman took the child and nursed it\u2026 ] when the child grew up\u2026 she brought him to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter\u2026 and she took him as her son\u2026 she named him Moses\u2026 because\u2026 she said\u2026 I drew him out of the water<\/em>\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And we know the story\u2026 when Moses had become a man\u2026 he saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating one of his people\u2026 and he slew him\u2026 and Moses fled for his life\u2026 ] fast forward several chapters to Moses tending flocks for his father-in-law Jethro\u2026 and God\u2026 through the Burning Bush sending Moses to Egypt\u2026 to Pharaoh\u2026 to draw his people\u2026 not only through the Red Sea\u2026 but when they got to the other side of it\u2026 out of slavery too\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so those who drew the blueprint for tonight’s Easter Vigil\u2026 were determined to make sure this one reading is always heard by God’s people\u2026 they wanted us to know about how God freed the Israelites after hundreds of years of slavery\u2026 but even more so\u2026 they wanted us to remember\u2026 to remind us\u2026 that God is\u2026 in every moment\u2026 ready to free us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s a story told by John Shea\u2026 about a teacher planning a Passion Play for Holy Week\u2026 and having more kids to cast than parts to play\u2026 and so in her creativity\u2026 she casts one little boy named John as the Rock which covers the tomb\u2026 and when the little girl\u2026 just slightly larger than Tinker Bell\u2026 and playing the Angel of the Lord\u2026 nudged the rolled-up-rock\u2026 he somersaulted away from the entrance of the tomb\u2026 while at the same time\u2026 managing to stay rolled up\u2026 and the Angel sat on him\u2026 making the stone of death\u2026 the throne of God\u2026 and the audience went wild\u2026 applauding and chanting Rock\u2026 Rock\u2026 Rock\u2026 and afterwards\u2026 even asking him for autographs\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The teacher wasn’t sure all this attention was good for John\u2026 so she took him aside and suggested that at the remaining performances… he play the tree from which Judas hung himself\u2026 [ I know\u2026 right\u2026 ] but he said\u2026 I like being the Rock<\/em>\u2026 ] and the teacher asked\u2026 as many teachers do\u2026 Why<\/em>\u2026 he answered\u2026 I like letting Christ out of the tomb<\/em>\u2026 ] but John\u2026 <\/em>she said\u2026 the Rock isn’t rolled back\u2026 so Christ can get out\u2026 he is already gone\u2026 the Rock<\/em>\u2026 she pointed out\u2026 is rolled back\u2026 so that the women can see in<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n John’s face twisted and floundered for the first time in the deep waters of the Spirit\u2026 Well<\/em>\u2026 he asked\u2026 how did he get out if the Rock was still stuck in the hole<\/em>\u2026 and now\u2026 while the teacher herself floundered for an answer that John would be able to handle\u2026 and took a breath to offer what she hoped what would make some sense to him\u2026 John himself provided one\u2026 Well<\/em>\u2026 he said\u2026 I guess huge rocks are no big thing for God<\/em>\u2026 and the teacher said\u2026 in a quiet\u2026 choking voice\u2026 that he should continue in the role of the Rock\u2026 since he knew the part so well…<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is historical truth to the Exodus story\u2026 but it’s deepest truth\u2026 is that its message of freedom transcends all times\u2026 places\u2026 and circumstances\u2026 Exodus offers us freedom from anything and everything which does\u2026 or can enslave us\u2026 and as we are freed from those things which keep us captive… as we allow Jesus to pull us out\u2026 draw us out through the waters of baptism\u2026 pull us out of death and into life\u2026 we are increasingly free to receive all that God has waiting for us\u2026 and we will experience that we are a part of something incomprehensibly greater than ourselves\u2026 you see\u2026 the joy of this day is ours\u2026 whether we have read the story\u2026 or not\u2026 Happy Easter\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year A Vigil\u00a0The Flood (Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13)\u00a0Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-15:1)\u00a0Salvation Offered Freely to All (Isaiah 55:1-11)\u00a0A New Heart and a New Spirit (Ezekiel 36:24-28)\u00a0The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14)\u00a0The Gathering of God’s People (Zephaniah 3:12-20) At the Eucharist Romans 6:3-11 Psalm 114\u00a0Matthew 28:1-10 May the words of my mouth, O God, speak your truth\u2026 Some years ago\u2026 here in Grand Rapids\u2026 Joel and I went to an evening lecture at the offices of the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church\u2026 and which was sponsored by the LGBT Christian support group GIFT\u2026 Gays in Faith Together\u2026 Two Churches’ Lauren McIntyre currently serves as the board President\u2026 though the story I want to tell wasn’t under her watch\u2026 but Joel and I went\u2026 because the speakers were two Jewish men\u2026 who were going to talk about the Exodus\u2026 the setting free of the Israelites from slavery\u2026 and after all of the introductions were made\u2026 and an overview of the evening was presented\u2026 one of the speakers asked if anyone was willing to share a few sentences about the basic story line of that historical event\u2026 and there were about eighteen people there\u2026 and except for the two speakers\u2026 and Joel and me\u2026 none of the other fourteen or so people even seemed to know what the story was about\u2026 it didn’t seem as though any of them were just being shy\u2026 because there were blank stares and short-lived awkward silences\u2026 as though at least some of them thought they ought to know something about it\u2026 ] and maybe none of them had read that part of the Bible\u2026 but apparently none of them had seen Cecile B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments either\u2026 that in itself would have been enough of a primer\u2026 but no\u2026 no one could muster even that\u2026 I felt distressed\u2026 In the Episcopal guidelines for tonight’s Vigil\u2026 there are nine readings from which to choose\u2026 and at least two are to be read\u2026 and one of the two must always be the reading we just heard from Exodus\u2026 about Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea\u2026 in Lutheran guidelines\u2026 there are twelve readings from which to choose\u2026 and at least four are to be read\u2026 four which are never omitted\u2026 and one of the four must always be the reading from Exodus about Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea\u2026 because the Exodus story has more than one layer of truth\u2026 because what happened there was pivotal\u2026 and it was led by a man who was simply following God’s will\u2026 According to the Torah\u2026 the name “Moses” comes from a Hebrew verb\u2026 which means… to pull out of\u2026 or\u2026 to draw out of \u2026 but not out of just anything\u2026 but out of water\u2026 and the infant Moses was given this name by Pharaoh’s daughter some years after she rescued him from the Nile\u2026 Listen to Exodus 2:5-10\u2026 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river\u2026 while her attendants walked beside the river she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it\u2026 when she opened it\u2026 she saw the child\u2026 he was crying and she took pity on him\u2026 This must be one of the Hebrews\u2019 children… she said\u2026 then his sister [ Miriam ]\u2026 said to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter\u2026 Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you\u2026 Pharaoh\u2019s daughter said to her\u2026 Yes\u2026 so the girl went and called the child\u2019s mother [ Jochebed ]\u2026 Pharaoh\u2019s daughter said to her\u2026 Take this child and nurse it for me\u2026 and I will give you your wages\u2026 so the woman took the child and nursed it\u2026 ] when the child grew up\u2026 she brought him to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter\u2026 and she took him as her son\u2026 she named him Moses\u2026 because\u2026 she said\u2026 I drew him out of the water\u2026 And we know the story\u2026 when Moses had become a man\u2026 he saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating one of his people\u2026 and he slew him\u2026 and Moses fled for his life\u2026 ] fast forward several chapters to Moses tending flocks for his father-in-law Jethro\u2026 and God\u2026 through the Burning Bush sending Moses to Egypt\u2026 to Pharaoh\u2026 to draw his people\u2026 not only through the Red Sea\u2026 but when they got to the other side of it\u2026 out of slavery too\u2026 And so those who drew the blueprint for tonight’s Easter Vigil\u2026 were determined to make sure this one reading is always heard by God’s people\u2026 they wanted us to know about how God freed the Israelites after hundreds of years of slavery\u2026 but even more so\u2026 they wanted us to remember\u2026 to remind us\u2026 that God is\u2026 in every moment\u2026 ready to free us\u2026 There’s a story told by John Shea\u2026 about a teacher planning a Passion Play for Holy Week\u2026 and having more kids to cast than parts to play\u2026 and so in her creativity\u2026 she casts one little boy named John as the Rock which covers the tomb\u2026 and when the little girl\u2026 just slightly larger than Tinker Bell\u2026 and playing the Angel of the Lord\u2026 nudged the rolled-up-rock\u2026 he somersaulted away from the entrance of the tomb\u2026 while at the same time\u2026 managing to stay rolled up\u2026 and the Angel sat on him\u2026 making the stone of death\u2026 the throne of God\u2026 and the audience went wild\u2026 applauding and chanting Rock\u2026 Rock\u2026 Rock\u2026 and afterwards\u2026 even asking him for autographs\u2026 The teacher wasn’t sure all this attention was good for John\u2026 so she took him aside and suggested that at the remaining performances… he play the tree from which Judas hung himself\u2026 [ I know\u2026 right\u2026 ] but he said\u2026 I like being the Rock\u2026 ] and the teacher asked\u2026 as many teachers do\u2026 Why\u2026 he answered\u2026 I like letting Christ out of the tomb\u2026 ] but John\u2026 she said\u2026 the Rock isn’t rolled back\u2026 so Christ can get out\u2026 he is already gone\u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[239,209],"class_list":["post-2023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","tag-easter-vigil","tag-set-free"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/EasterVigil_resized.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2023"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2027,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions\/2027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u00a0The Flood (Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13)
\u00a0Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-15:1)
\u00a0Salvation Offered Freely to All (Isaiah 55:1-11)
\u00a0A New Heart and a New Spirit (Ezekiel 36:24-28)
\u00a0The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
\u00a0The Gathering of God’s People (Zephaniah 3:12-20)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 114
\u00a0Matthew 28:1-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n