Easter Eve Saturday
The Rev. Dan Rondeau
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Acts 10:34-43 | Psalm 118:14-17 | Colossians 3:1-4 | Mark 16:1-8
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them….” Mark 10:14
Thanks be to God that despite their terror and amazement and their fear, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, found their voice. Thanks be to God that Peter, Andrew, James, and John and the rest of the disciples, including Thomas, came to see with their own eyes, came to believe with their hearts, what the angel spoke: “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified….has been raised.”1 Thanks be to God that you parents and godparents, parents and grandparents, parents and extended family and friends, have come to believe with your own hearts that “The Lord is risen indeed.” Thanks be to God that you present your children this evening for baptism.2 Thanks be to God, Trevor, that with the support and encouragement of your parents and your grandmother Jan, you step forward this evening to receive the sacrament of new life, the sacrament of Baptism.
What we have heard is remarkable, marvelous, glorious, and filled with light and hope “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified…has been raised.” That we have come to believe that Jesus is raised is likewise, remarkable, marvelous, glorious, and filled with light and hope.
What a joy it is to be with you and receive your children, receive you, Trevor, and share with you one of our greatest treasures: the new life of grace bestowed by God in the waters of baptism.3 The wonder of this gift of Baptism arises with Jesus of Nazareth on the first day of the week—an event we remember tonight and an event that we will celebrate for the next 50 days. “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified…has been raised.”
Had the women remained afraid, had they remained silent, had the apostles kept themselves hidden in fear, had the doubters, like Thomas, been unable to satisfy their doubts, we would not be here.
As the apostles reached old age, as those who were witnesses to the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection died, a second generation had already come to believe the Good News. In their day they lived their lives in accordance with the life and teachings of Jesus. In their day they lived inspired by the stories told them by eyewitnesses, by apostles and disciples who knew Jesus. In their day this generation faithfully passed on their heart’s beliefs to a third generation.
And so it has gone from days of Peter and Andrew, James and John, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome: a faithful keeping of precious stories, a faithful sharing of precious stories, lives lived following the example and teaching of Jesus. One generation telling the next—until in our day, on this night we gather in faith to tell and hear the story that “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified…has been raised.”
Among us tonight we have at least three generations of believers. Each generation receiving the faith from those who have gone before: the youngest generation receiving the words and example of the older generations as they are welcomed into the Body of Christ through the waters of Baptism and the oldest generation remembering those who, having passed on their faith, now walk with God in paradise. It is a moment filled with awe and mystery; savor it, for we live in a world that is too quick to discount awe and mystery.
Parents and Godparents, in a few moments you will be asked if you will be responsible for seeing to it that the children you present are brought up in the Christian faith and life. You will answer “I will.” We trust you, with God’s help, to fulfill your promise. We depend on you to fulfill your promise. For our part, the entire congregation will be asked if we will do all in our power to support these persons (both the candidates, and you) in their life in Christ. We will answer, “We will.” You will trust us, with God’s help, to fulfill our promise. You will depend on us to fulfill our promise.4
Here is the truth all of us live with: the Church, that is, the People of God, is only one generation away from extinction. Always; one generation away from extinction. We depend on you to inform and teach and inspire your children, the next generation of believers so that the generation which follows will know, as we do, that “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified…has been raised.” You depend on us to help you share the faith. As you look around tonight, let the enormity of what you do, the sacredness of what you do, fill your heart. You bring your children to receive the sacrament of Baptism and new life in Christ. You pass along the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. You pass along the promise that we, too, will be raised from death to life by the power of God.
For, ultimately, the best news of the angel was not spoken aloud but is at the heart of our joy and is the inspiration of our actions tonight. We share in Christ’s victory; we share in his eternal life, because it is his gift to us who believe.
With thanksgiving we will announce this truth as we bless the waters of baptism to be used tonight. We will say, “We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.”5
Trevor, Kiana, Alyssa, Leah, and Allison you are about to receive a wonderful gift on this day that the Lord has made. You are about to receive this gift because the families who love you so much desire to share the best gift that they have ever received. Let us delay no longer. Let us share the gift of new life with you as we baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
1 Mark 16:6
2 On this night, Trevor Millman, Kiana DeLeon, Alyssa DeLeon, Leah Dusek, and Allison Black were presented by their parents to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
3 Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen. BCP, p. 308
4 From the Presentation and Examination of Candidates, BCP, pp. 301-302
5 Thanksgiving over the Water, BCP, p. 306.
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