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THE LORD'S PRAYER
ADVENT 1 | ADVENT 2 | ADVENT 3 |ADVENT 4 | ADVENT 5
EASTER
DAY
15th
April 2001
Life has been variously described as a journey, a pilgrimage or a process of
self-discovery. William Shakespeare has described
our life as consisting of seven stages. I think
this is very helpful, as we do pass through definite
stages in life. For example, being in my 50s,
I see things and understand things in quite a
different way to how I viewed the world, and myself,
in my 30s.
From a spiritual point of view, one could describe our personal development
also as following a particular series of stages,
each with its own special experiences and rites
of passage. In our church we see spiritual development
of the individual as involving five major steps
or epochs, and that these are mirrored in the
life of Jesus of Nazareth. These five events in
our Lord's life are:
1. Birth, 2. Baptism, 3. Transfiguration, 4. Crucifixion and 5. Resurrection
(which includes the Ascension, which many see
as one event).
There are, of course, many incidents in our Lord's life which deserve special
mention and we do reflect on them during the church's
year. But for our purpose today, these five events
I have mentioned help us to see the Easter story
in a particular context - i.e. as two events with
several scenes, each of which has something special
to teach us.
The events we remember and take part in this weekend in fact cover two of the
great mysteries of our faith - Crucifixion and
Resurrection. We celebrate these mysteries in
sacred space and in sacred time. The soul responds,
the very ground of our being recognises the eternal
truths they express. And what I would like to
do is refer briefly to the events of the past
week and conclude with our celebration of the
Resurrection today. I hope I can convince you
that we have here a great drama which has a total
of five scenes.
Scene 1 - Maundy Thursday
Although the events of Holy Week started last weekend, I will begin with Maundy
Thursday.
At St.John's, this evening service combines elements of the ancient service
of Tenebrae (meaning darkness), the receiving
of holy communion from the reserved sacrament,
all within the framework of the LCC service of
Complin. We also meditate for a few moments before
the Blessed Sacrament, which is then retired to
the Chapel of Repose.
The altar is then stripped of its coverings and adornments, including the candles,
the tabernacle doors are left open to show that
it is empty, and all other lights are extinguished.
We leave the church with a special appreciation
of the abiding love of God and of the sacred presence
of our Lord Christ in us and in the world. We
also reflect on the story of the Last Supper and
that we have had communion with Him. This service
also prepares us for the dramatic events we are
to be commemorating on Good Friday, for we are
reminded of the old and wise saying - "no cross,
no crown".
Scene 2 - Good Friday
On this day the service of Prime and Veneration of the Cross is observed. The
progressive unveiling of a simple wooden cross
in the sanctuary and the singing of the special
hymn in the liturgy - "Take up thy Cross", give
poignancy and immediacy to the events they commemorate
and how they affect us today.
The unveiling of the cross is like taking away those things which hide our true
self, until finally we are confronted by our own
inner self, when we are brought to an awareness
of the Christ-principle within. The story of the
Crucifixion, therefore, is not only an historical
event but it also has its mythical and mystical
aspects on which we are to ponder. Each of these
layers of meaning is explored during the forthcoming
weeks and we meditate on their implications for
the world in general as well as for us in particular.
The Good Friday service and its liturgy is not
as elaborate as those used on the other days of
Easter. This is deliberate, as the soul also needs
the simplicity of liturgy, the simplicity of the
message of Easter, to speak to us.
Scene 3 - Holy Saturday
The ceremony of the Lighting of the Fire begins the services on Holy Saturday.
This ancient custom of lighting the sacred flame
and blessing the Paschal Candle is of ancient
date, and in fact is a tradition which predates
Christianity. It is in accordance with tradition
that the ceremony is carried out in complete darkness
at the close of day and at the entrance to the
church. The congregation assembles in the west
near the table where the service begins.
The mystical
title given to our Lord, "the Son of the Sun"
and "the Lamb of God", are expressed beautifully
in this service. Our Lord is indeed the Light
of the World, the Lux Mundi (Jn 8:12) and
the Lamb of God - the Agnus Dei (Jn 1:29).
Five grains of incense are blessed and inserted into the specially made nails;
these are then placed in the candle in the form
of a cross. They represent the five wounds of
Christ and also the five senses of our own being
which are to be purified and set apart for a higher
purpose. (Thus the story of Easter is also representative
of our own "crucifixion" or purification of the
physical body and the finer aspects of our being
to God's service, as we are also a temple of God
(1Cor.3:16), are made in His likeness (Gen.1:26),
and have dedicated ourselves to His service.)
The celebrant then proceeds down the aisle with the lighted Paschal Candle,
genuflecting three times and proclaiming the Easter
message in the ancient words "Christ is our Light"
(Christus Lux Mea). The congregation responds
with the words "let the light shine in our hearts".
The Good News is then proclaimed in the words of the 8th century
Greek theologian St.John Damascene. All present
are then invited to light a votive candle from
the Paschal Candle. This action presents a profound
message to all who are present - of the Resurrection
of the Light of the World, that light which lighteth
each one of us within the cave of the human heart.
The votive candle thus represents the light of
the Risen Christ and is also our link with him
as his disciples.
The congregation is then invited to renew their baptismal and confirmation vows
with only their votive candles for light. This
they do as one in this darksome place, for the
church is still in darkness. This is to remind
us of the spiritual darkness in the world, alongside
the divine light which also pervades the world.
You will recall the opening verses of St.John's
Gospel, where the darkness of the world did not
understand or accept that light which comes from
God.
Scene 4 - Easter Eve
At the solemn hour of the birth of a new day, and again in consonance with the
ancient traditions of the church, we conclude
our vigil, herald the new dawn and proclaim the
Resurrection with the celebration of the Midnight
Eucharist.
The church is usually kept in darkness, except for the many candles on the altar,
as the congregation again hold their votive candles.
On this special occasion, as on Christmas Eve,
St.John's usually dispenses with the sermon and
the hymns. The celebration of the liturgy proceeds
uninterrupted, and all present enter the sacred
time and space which they themselves have helped
to create. We experience the sacredness of the
mystical hour and also in a special way we experience
the presence of the Prince of Peace and Lord of
Love. We are changed by our involvement in this
wonderful service; we have become more sensitive
to the numinous, to the presence of God; we have
joined our Lord in His Resurrection.
The midnight celebration begins with the traditional proclamation by one of
the women of the parish - "Christ is Risen", to
which we all reply "He is Risen indeed". We do
this as it was one of the women who first saw
the empty tomb and proclaimed the Resurrection
to the disciples.
Scene 5 - Easter Day
As the sun rises in the east to open and enliven the day, so do we, the people
of the Faith, face "east" as we celebrate the
Holy Eucharist of the Risen Christ, who lives
as a mighty spiritual presence in the world, nourishing
and sustaining it with His love.
Our Lord the Christ has Risen, and we behold the Sign. The beautiful plain cross
which is above the altar at St.John's gives witness
to the Liberal Catholic emphasis on the Risen
Christ. The holy eucharist is celebrated in festal
splendour. The readings expound the mystery of
both the Incarnation and of the Resurrection,
and we are all called upon to accept them as our
own.
Conclusion
I believe that these five scenes, or steps of initiation in the mysteries of
our faith, encompass the whole teaching and mystery
of God's love for mankind. They also point to
the spiritual destiny which is ours, as disciples
of the Lord. Our own spiritual journey is mapped
out in the life and teachings of the Christ. In
this part of the journey we have been "buried"
in Christ and we have also been "raised" with
Christ. And our hope is based on His promise that
there is for each of us a spiritual home in the
heavenly Jerusalem, and also that He goes to prepare
a place for us. This is our spiritual destiny
as children of God, as represented by the words
in our own Act of Faith, where we say that "all
of us will one day reach his feet however far
we stray".
We are very fortunate to have a sacred place, such as this wonderful church,
in which we can be translated into a sacred time,
a dimension in which our soul feeds on spiritual
food and our faith is further strengthened by
having communion with our Lord. So many in the
world today do not have this opportunity for healing
and spiritual refreshment as we do, and so many
more deny its necessity to their well-being. I
suggest that today we pray especially for those
who are denied the spiritual food we are about
to receive, and pray also for those who have lost
their way and are in need of healing and our prayers.
A happy and joyous Easter to you all!
