Easter Vigil 2006
Rejoice , heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! REJOICE all creation around God's throne!
JESUS CHRIST our king is risen!
Sound the trumpets of salvation!
The Exultet. The Easter Proclamation. The beginning of every Easter Vigil mass. Besides being six and a half minutes of sheer paninc for a lot of deacons, what does it mean? Why is it such an important part of this evening's mass?
There's a Greek word, “kerygma”. It's the root of the word “charismatic.” According to Webster, It means “the apostolic proclamation of salvation through Jesus Christ. Kerygma. It's a neat word. If there's ever a time for kerygma, it has to be tonight.
We ARE saved through Jesus Christ and tonight is the night when we commemorate that act of salvation in a very special way.
For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father.
Did you hear that? Our price is paid! We've been rescued from original sin. It's like a gift card to heaven!
This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.
Christians everywhere! That's you; and that's me; and that's Christians all over the world. We've been washed clean of sin and FREED from all defilement. Can there be any better news??!!
This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave!
The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence and brings mourners joy.
Could it possibly be any better than that? Could anyone have done any more for us than Christ did on Good Friday. He gave up His life to save ours. Greater love has no man than to lay down His life for His friends.
I'm afraid that sometimes, those of us who have been given the privelege and the responsibility of preaching the Gospel may get complacent and not give you kerygma. We may not do a complete job of proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ. If we did a sufficient job of delivering the message, there would never be an empty seat in church.
Our job, when we come to this ambo, is to talk to you about the way today's readings apply to your life. Some readings make that very easy. Some make it very hard. I think Fr. Gary and Mike would agree with me that we couldn't do it without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But the faculty to preach is an awesome gift. For me, it forces me to look for God all the time. You see things. I see potential homilies.
For example, Jan and I were having breakfast the other morning and I asked her why she thought Jesus made His resurrection known first, to women? Why not men? It was a rhetorical question because I already knew the answer. He knew that women like to gossip and the news would spread faster through the three women.
But, she said “no”. The reason He chose the women was because if He had made himself known to men, they would have forgotten to tell anybody. She was right, of course. She's always right. Maybe not such a good homily story after all. Maybe some other time.
In preparing a homily, sometimes we forget to look at the big picture. Whatever the day's readings are about, they all come down to one thing. Kerygma. You and I and every believer is saved through Jesus Christ's resurrection! No matter what else we talk about, that's the real message.
God knows, and so do you, that I can stand up here and ramble on for hours about something, but in the final analysis, it's all about one thing. Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe, the All Powerful, Ever-living God loves you and me enough to send His only Son to die for our sins. And, because He did, we have the opportunity to spend eternity in His presence, in paradise.
We began this Easter Vigil mass in darkness, the darkness of sin and death. We lit the Easter candle, and shared the light with one another, lighting the entire church from just that one flame.
The Easter Proclamation concluded with Mike asking God to Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night.
And, finally, May the Morning Star, which never sets find this flame still burning. Jesus Christ is that morning star. He came back from the dead and shed his peaceful light on all mankind.
Kerygma!
On behalf of Fr. Gary, Deacon Mike Coppage and all the parish staff, I'd like to be the first to wish all of you a very Happy and Blessed Easter. Thank you for coming this evening and avoiding the long lines and crowds of Easter morning. Without all of you, proclaiming salvation by your presence, we'd all feel pretty silly up here.
A lot of things go into a liturgy like this; some that you see and a lot that you don't. Special thanks to Sister Mary Ann and the members of our choir. They've been practicing literally for months to prepare the music for this evening, adding to the kerygma.
Thanks to Greg Meyer and the RAVE youth group for all of their assistance in making things go so well this evening.
Our proclamation of the Gospel, our kerygma is much more than words and music. Thanks to Jeanne Kohnen for all her hard work in preparing the Easter flowers. She and her two helpers, Laura Schoen and my wife Jan were up here until almost midnight last night.
As we go through the liturgical seasons, the church decorations change from gold to green to purple back to gold and then back to green. If you were here last night, you know that we were all in purple. Tonight we're in gold. That doesn't just happen. Thanks to Jack Treiber, Tim Schoen and Michael Meier for their help in making the change. Special thanks to Jack for holding the ladder while I hung the banners on the side.
Thanks to our Angel Dusters who keep our worship space clean and tidy throughout the year. And thanks to all those who take care of our flowers and trees and the grounds around the church. We have a beautiful church inside and out. Kerygma!
I apologize if I missed anyone, but please know that everyone's help is appreciated and contributes to our kerygma.
Oh, and a special thanks to our patron, St. Bernadette, whose feast day is today. This parish has been blessed in many ways over the years thanks to her intercession. May she continue to intercede for us.
St. Bernadette...Pray for us.
Jesus Christ is risen!
Sound the trumpets of salvation!
JESUS CHRIST our king is risen!
Sound the trumpets of salvation!
The Exultet. The Easter Proclamation. The beginning of every Easter Vigil mass. Besides being six and a half minutes of sheer paninc for a lot of deacons, what does it mean? Why is it such an important part of this evening's mass?
There's a Greek word, “kerygma”. It's the root of the word “charismatic.” According to Webster, It means “the apostolic proclamation of salvation through Jesus Christ. Kerygma. It's a neat word. If there's ever a time for kerygma, it has to be tonight.
We ARE saved through Jesus Christ and tonight is the night when we commemorate that act of salvation in a very special way.
For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father.
Did you hear that? Our price is paid! We've been rescued from original sin. It's like a gift card to heaven!
This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.
Christians everywhere! That's you; and that's me; and that's Christians all over the world. We've been washed clean of sin and FREED from all defilement. Can there be any better news??!!
This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave!
The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence and brings mourners joy.
Could it possibly be any better than that? Could anyone have done any more for us than Christ did on Good Friday. He gave up His life to save ours. Greater love has no man than to lay down His life for His friends.
I'm afraid that sometimes, those of us who have been given the privelege and the responsibility of preaching the Gospel may get complacent and not give you kerygma. We may not do a complete job of proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ. If we did a sufficient job of delivering the message, there would never be an empty seat in church.
Our job, when we come to this ambo, is to talk to you about the way today's readings apply to your life. Some readings make that very easy. Some make it very hard. I think Fr. Gary and Mike would agree with me that we couldn't do it without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But the faculty to preach is an awesome gift. For me, it forces me to look for God all the time. You see things. I see potential homilies.
For example, Jan and I were having breakfast the other morning and I asked her why she thought Jesus made His resurrection known first, to women? Why not men? It was a rhetorical question because I already knew the answer. He knew that women like to gossip and the news would spread faster through the three women.
But, she said “no”. The reason He chose the women was because if He had made himself known to men, they would have forgotten to tell anybody. She was right, of course. She's always right. Maybe not such a good homily story after all. Maybe some other time.
In preparing a homily, sometimes we forget to look at the big picture. Whatever the day's readings are about, they all come down to one thing. Kerygma. You and I and every believer is saved through Jesus Christ's resurrection! No matter what else we talk about, that's the real message.
God knows, and so do you, that I can stand up here and ramble on for hours about something, but in the final analysis, it's all about one thing. Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe, the All Powerful, Ever-living God loves you and me enough to send His only Son to die for our sins. And, because He did, we have the opportunity to spend eternity in His presence, in paradise.
We began this Easter Vigil mass in darkness, the darkness of sin and death. We lit the Easter candle, and shared the light with one another, lighting the entire church from just that one flame.
The Easter Proclamation concluded with Mike asking God to Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night.
And, finally, May the Morning Star, which never sets find this flame still burning. Jesus Christ is that morning star. He came back from the dead and shed his peaceful light on all mankind.
Kerygma!
On behalf of Fr. Gary, Deacon Mike Coppage and all the parish staff, I'd like to be the first to wish all of you a very Happy and Blessed Easter. Thank you for coming this evening and avoiding the long lines and crowds of Easter morning. Without all of you, proclaiming salvation by your presence, we'd all feel pretty silly up here.
A lot of things go into a liturgy like this; some that you see and a lot that you don't. Special thanks to Sister Mary Ann and the members of our choir. They've been practicing literally for months to prepare the music for this evening, adding to the kerygma.
Thanks to Greg Meyer and the RAVE youth group for all of their assistance in making things go so well this evening.
Our proclamation of the Gospel, our kerygma is much more than words and music. Thanks to Jeanne Kohnen for all her hard work in preparing the Easter flowers. She and her two helpers, Laura Schoen and my wife Jan were up here until almost midnight last night.
As we go through the liturgical seasons, the church decorations change from gold to green to purple back to gold and then back to green. If you were here last night, you know that we were all in purple. Tonight we're in gold. That doesn't just happen. Thanks to Jack Treiber, Tim Schoen and Michael Meier for their help in making the change. Special thanks to Jack for holding the ladder while I hung the banners on the side.
Thanks to our Angel Dusters who keep our worship space clean and tidy throughout the year. And thanks to all those who take care of our flowers and trees and the grounds around the church. We have a beautiful church inside and out. Kerygma!
I apologize if I missed anyone, but please know that everyone's help is appreciated and contributes to our kerygma.
Oh, and a special thanks to our patron, St. Bernadette, whose feast day is today. This parish has been blessed in many ways over the years thanks to her intercession. May she continue to intercede for us.
St. Bernadette...Pray for us.
Jesus Christ is risen!
Sound the trumpets of salvation!
posted by Mike at 4:29 PM
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