Welcome to the Easter Vigil!
The holiest worship event in the ancient church was the Great Vigil of Easter. It began on Holy Saturday, late at night when it was dark and concluded with the light of Easter dawn. The principle parts of the service were Baptism of Christian converts and entrance into the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist.
Today’s service is something you can do at your own pace – take your time with it, spread it out over the day, or attend to the whole service in one sitting. We pray that you are inspired by hearing the story of God’s love for creation and by the message of God’s walking with God’s people through thick and thin.
As strange as it may seem, even the in-person Easter Vigil has a “casual” feel to it. While it is the most holy day in the church year, it also has moments of joy and levity. These emotions and feelings are gifts from God – ones we encourage you to feel in your body fully today.
First Section: The Service of Light
The service begins with the Service of Light where the new fire is blessed and the people follow the lighted Paschal (Easter) Candle just as the Israelites followed the pillars of cloud and fire when they were delivered from bondage. The Exultet is sung proclaiming our own deliverance from slavery to sin. We invite you to light your own candle with us, as we join with the faithful from every time and place in the service of light.
Second Section: Readings
The second part of the service consists of several readings from the Old Testament. All of them focus on God’s saving mercy to the Israelites. They help to sum up the Church’s understanding of God’s redemptive power and our covenant relationship with the Lord. The traditional Easter Vigil has 12 readings. When we gather in person, we typically do not read them all; as that would be quite lengthy. Yet, this year it seems appropriate to indulge ourselves with the full Easter Vigil experience. We invite you to meditate deeply on these words from the History of God’s People.
Reading 1:Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Reading 1 Prayer Response:
Reading 2:Genesis 7-8
Reading 2 Prayer Response:
Reading 2 Musical Response:
Reading 3: Genesis 22:1-18
Reading 3 Prayer Response
Reading 4:Exodus 14-15
Reading 4 Prayer Response
Reading 4 Musical Response:
Reading 5:Isaiah 55:1-11
Reading 5 Prayer Response
Reading 6: Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6
Reading 6 Prayer Response
Reading 7: Ezekiel 36:24-28
Reading 7 Prayer Response
Reading 8: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Reading 8 Prayer Response
Reading 8 Musical Response
Reading 9: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Reading 9 Prayer Response
Reading 10: Jonah 1:1-2:1
Reading 10 Prayer Response
Reading 11: Isaiah 61:1-4, 9:11
Reading 11 Prayer Response
Reading 12: Daniel 3:1-29
Reading 12 Prayer Response
Reading 12 Musical Response
Third Section: Remembrance of Baptism
During this section, we are going to ask you to get a bowl of water to have in front of you during the prayer (or a sink full of water will do.)
We invite you to pray Luther’s Baptismal Prayer at home, following the instructions. Click the video to the right to see more about what we will do during the prayer, then follow the prayer below.
Let us pray.
Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: We give you thanks, [blow on water] for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and you created heaven and earth. By the gift of water you nourish and sustain us and all living things.
By the waters of the flood you condemned the wicked and saved those whom you had chosen, Noah and his family. You led Israel [sign of cross in water] by the pillar of cloud and fire through the sea, out of slavery into the freedom of the promised land.
In the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. By the baptism [scoop water with your hand, 3 times] of his own death and resurrection your beloved Son has set us free from the bondage to sin and death, and has opened the way to the joy and freedom of everlasting life. He made water [make washing motions in the water] a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth. In obedience to his command, we make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Pour out your Holy Spirit, [blow sign of cross] so that those who are here baptized may be given new life. Wash away the sin of all those who are cleansed by this water and bring them forth as inheritors of your glorious kingdom.
To you be given praise and honor and worship through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
The Fourth and Final Section: Happy Easter!
Easter Reading & Brief Message
We offer our Prayers...
We have gathered today in digital Christian community – we have heard the stories of God’s saving power and of the joy of the resurrection.
Typically, on Easter Saturday we have a prayer vigil at church for around 12 hours of the day. Since we are not at church today, and since people will be visiting this page regularly throughout the day, we will be having a digital prayer vigil here in this space.
Please leave your prayer requests here, and be assured that the Pastors will be praying for you – as will many others who stop at this page.
