Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Amen.
Alleluia, Christ our Passover is
sacrificed for us. Therefore let
us keep the feast. Alleluia.
On this most holy night, we remember
the night Jesus passed over from death to life.
We have gathered together in vigil and prayer to celebrate the Passover
of our Lord. We have kindled the
new fire, lit our new Paschal candle, and listened to that wonderful most
ancient hymn, the Exsultet that summarizes our faith. We have come together to hear the stories of our faith. We discover again that these ancient
and familiar stories are not just about the past but are also our own
stories. We are reminded again
that Christ is our Passover too, for all that enslaves, oppresses, and
frightens us.
Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us. What does that mean? How do those words change your life and
mine forever?
Passover. We know the story of the Jewish Passover in Egypt when the
eldest sons were passed over by the Angel of death after each Hebrew house was
marked on the doorframe (lintel) with the blood of the Passover lamb.
Tonight we heard the story of how
Isaac was passed over too. Abraham
was about to sacrifice Isaac to God when the Angel of the Lord told Abraham to
stay his hand. God had provided a
ram, stuck in the bushes for the sacrifice. The sacrifice of Isaac, AbrahamÕs son was not needed. And Abraham named that place, ÔThe Lord
will provideÕ.
What happened after the angel of
death passed over the Israelites in Egypt? We heard tonight how the Israelites fled Egypt with the
Egyptian army in hot pursuit. They
were saved when they crossed the divided sea that then swallowed up the
Egyptian army. There was still a
long journey ahead. The Passover
was just the beginning of a new life and hope. In fact, the story tells us it took forty years to reach the
promised land. During that time
Moses led the people from a life as slaves in Egypt, through the wilderness, to
new life in the promised land. The
passage through the Red Sea represents a type of baptism for the people, into a
new life, free from their oppressors.
But, they
could not instantly shed their lives and the habits learned as slaves. It took time, wandering in the desert
to become a new and a free people.
In our Gospel reading, the women at
the tomb were the first to hear the words, ÔWhy do you look for the living
among the dead? He is not hear,
but has risen.Õ They were the
first to hear that Christ had become the Passover from death to life for all
humankind.
The stories we tell and retell
tonight and at each Eucharist during the year follow an ancient Jewish
tradition. We do not just hear the
stories. We are asked to become a
part of the stories. Imagine
yourself as Abraham or Isaac, as Sarah or Hagar, as a Hebrew slave escaping
Egypt and wandering in the wilderness, as one of the women at the tomb. When we were Abraham and Isaac, when we were slaves in Egypt, when we were the women at the tomb.
We remember that we ourselves are
part of this story; that we ourselves may have sacrificed our children or may
have been sacrificed as a child to a greater need of a parent, that we are
slaves to our fears, our needs, or our desires, that we too are frightened by
death.
Hear then from the Epistle to the
Romans, ÒDo you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death?
Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into deathÉÓ
Buried with Christ, baptized into
his death? What do we bury? Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever had prejudices and biases
against others? Have you ever been
oppressed or have you ever oppressed someone else? Those things, burdens from our lives, are what we give to
Christ to be buried. What is this
baptism about? We give all of our
lives, our fears, hopes, and that which entangles us, to be baptized into his
death.
The Passover story is our story
because all of us seek freedom from that which enslaves us. Whether it is actually human slavery,
which still does exist in our world, or slavery to our fears, our passions, and
desires, we all have times that we know we are enslaved; times that keep us
from being free to love God and each other. We need a Moses to lead us out of slavery into freedom.
Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.
The good news of the Easter story is
that Christ is the new Moses who leads people out of slavery into freedom. The women at the tomb, Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women were first terrified by
the two men in dazzling clothes.
Then they heard, ÔWhy do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was
still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be
crucified, and on the third day rise again.Ó
The women went to tell the others
and the news began to spread. It
continued to spread despite persecutions, because it was giving news of hope,
love, and of GodÕs peace to worn and weary people.
The good news continued. Why did Paul say in Romans, that we had
to be buried with Christ and baptized into his death? ÒTherefore we have been buried with him by baptism 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.Ó
Tonight we celebrate our own
Passover story with Christ as our Moses who leads us from slavery to freedom.
The good news is that Christ, our
Passover, will lead us through the wilderness to the promised land. Christ will be with us, not only after
we die but so that Ôwe too might walk in newness of lifeÕ now. We bury our fears, our foibles, and our
mistakes with Christ so we can rise to new life in the present. Christ is with us today. Christ walks with us each day and each
night. Christ takes us through the
wilderness of life to the promised land, changing us, forming us, leading us
ever more into joy and closeness with God.
In a few moments, we will retell the
salvation story again as we participate in our Eucharist. Listen as we remember the acts of Jesus
for the world and as we realize these acts are also the acts of Jesus in our
own lives right now, leading us out of bondage and slavery to our fears and to
our particular circumstances, into freedom. We will re-experience the event of Christ as our Passover,
and be fed right now at the table with the living presence of Christ.
The stories of the Easter vigil, the
story of ChristÕs Passover from death to life, the story of our Eucharist are
about us; our lives, our hopes and fears as part of the people of God. They are about how our lives are a part
with the lives and stories from the past, the present, and the future. We are all children of God; we are all
part of the story of GodÕs redeeming love for all. We are all learning to walk in newness of life with Christ
because of his Passover from death to life. May we share that resurrection with others as we experience
it for ourselves.
In the words of the
Exsultet, ÒThis is the night when all who believe in Christ are delivered from
the gloom of sin and restored to holiness of life. This is the night when Christ broke the bonds of death and
hell, and rose victorious from the graveÉÓ
Alleluia, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.