The words of the Exsultet, “This is the night, when…”
This is the night when the Church attempts to read all of Holy Scripture in one sitting.
This is the night when the choir and organist threaten to go on strike if I add one more piece of music.
This is the night when the parish administrator double-dog dares me to make one more change to the bulletin.
This is the night when the congregation asks, “Are we there yet?”
This is the night, the eve of our salvation when we enter into the darkness of the tomb and create a spark that becomes a flame that sets the whole world ablaze with the Light of Christ.
This is the night when we baptize Nolan, and Crawford receives his first communion.
From the song, December, 1963, by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, “O, what a night!”
Of all the liturgies throughout the church year, this is the highest and most grand. It is the culmination of all the other days and festivals, from the Incarnation to the Transfiguration to Good Friday to Easter. On this night, we remember all that God has done for His people, we give thanks for what He has done for us, and we celebrate the bringing into the Kingdom those new members who receive the cleansing that comes through Baptism and the participation of others in Christ’s body by becoming one with Jesus through receiving the Holy Sacrament. O, what a night.
Tonight is a reminder that we are not alone in this world. It is a reminder that the Church Triumphant—those who have gone before us—and the Chruch Militant—we today—are bound together in love through baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. That through Jesus’ giving of Himself, we truly become one with Him and each other.
I will not be long-winded tonight because everything you see and hear is a sermon. So, I’ll encourage you to be one in Christ Jesus. So many things seek to divide us, but the bonds of love are stronger than any of these, and the only way those bonds can be severed is if we intentionally cut them ourselves.
You are Christ’s one holy catholic and apostolic Church. Let us receive Nolan into our family through her baptism and then participate with Crawford in his first communion. O, what a night.
“The candidate for Holy Baptism will now be presented.” BCP p.301.
Candle in a Cave 