Easter Vigil: 11, 12 April 2009
(John 20:1-18)
Rejoice and Sing: Christos Anesti
Glory be to God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – now in this world
and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Beloved of God and my beloved, as the darkness of this night is dispelled by the flames of the paschal candles I greet you with the ancient proclamation of the church, with the proclamation that dispels all darkness: Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed! This is not the night for lawyers to quibble over marriage contracts and debate pre-nuptual agreements. This is the night for the wedding party to rejoice and sing, for the bridegroom has arrived, and we, as wise virgins with lamps trimmed and glowing, are invited to the feast. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed! This is not the night for weary slaves to dread another dawn and the making of bricks without straw. This is the night for free men and free women to rejoice and sing, for Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us, and the Paschal Lamb who was slain has risen victorious from the grave, trampling down death by death. And we, as sons and daughters and slaves no longer, are being led forth by the mighty hand and outstretched arm of our God Almighty. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed! This is not the night for the race of man, the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve, to bewail their fallen state – their corruption and alienation. This is the night for the image-bearers of God to rejoice and sing, for Christ, the new Adam, has made all creation new, restored the divine image in man, and reconciled man to God. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Once we sang the song of exiles, or held our tongues in silence because we could not sing.
1 By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, *
when we remembered you, O Zion.
2 As for our harps, we hung them up *
on the trees in the midst of that land.
3 For those who led us away captive asked us for a song,
and our oppressors called for mirth: *
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song *
upon an alien soil (Ps 137:1-4, BCP 1979)?
Once we sang the song of exiles, or held our tongues in silence because we could not sing, for we were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12, NKJV).
But now in Christ Jesus [we] who once we far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Now, therefore, [we] are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom [we] also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit (Eph 2:13, 19-22).
Now we sing the song of citizens. Now we cannot hold our tongues in silence.
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
then were we like those who dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are glad indeed (Ps 126:1-4, BCP 1979).
This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Once we groaned in the bondage and corruption of all creation, groaned with the labors of birthpangs, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Now we rejoice for Christ dwells in us and though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus dwells in us, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in us (cf Rom 8:9 ff). This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Once we were deaf to the song heaven, to the praise which resounds continually around the throne. But on this night the tomb is opened and so, too, are our ears opened to hear
the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, [we hear] saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever” (Rev 5:11-13, NKJV).
This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is washed away. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when the fallen are restored to innocence and those who mourn to joy. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed (Exsultet, adapted)!
Let no Christian remain silent on this holy night. Let all heaven and earth together rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
The Day of Resurrection! Let us be illumined, O ye people! The Passover, the Passover of the Lord! From death unto life, and from earth unto heaven hath Christ our God brought us over, singing a song of victory!
Christ is risen from the dead!
Let us purify our senses and we shall behold Christ, radiant with the light ineffable of the Resurrection, and shall hear him say, in accents clear: Rejoice! as we sing the song of victory.
Christ is risen from the dead!
For meet is it that the heavens should rejoice, and that the earth should be glad, and that the whole world, both visible and invisible, should keep the Feast. For Christ is risen, the everlasting joy!
The Day of Resurrection! Let us be illumined, O ye people! The Passover, the Passover of the Lord! From death unto life, and from earth unto heaven hath Christ our God brought us over, singing a song of victory!
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tomb bestowing life (Easter Service, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America).
Tonight, the wise ones of this age, the skeptics will shake their heads in wonder that gullible ones still cling to myths of resurrection. They will doubt, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Tonight, the academic theologians will debate atonement theories and the role of resurrection in our salvation. They will debate, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Tonight, the merchants will hawk their wares: cards and chocolate bunnies and crème-filled eggs – resurrection as commodity. Wait one day and you can have resurrection on sale. They will take their profit, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Tonight, the world will turn as always – though we know everything has changed – the world will turn as always and turn blind eyes and deaf ears, oblivious to the glory and power of God in the resurrection of Christ. They will ignore the resurrection, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Lift up your heads, O ye people,
and be lifted up, O ye saints of God,
for Christ is risen from the dead
trampling down death by death
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Lift up your heads, O ye people,
and be lifted up, O ye saints of God,
for the Kingdom of God has come
and Christ has begun his reign.
Lift up your heads, O ye people,
and be lifted up, O ye saints of God,
for this night we can rejoice and sing
and give voice to all creation:
Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Amen! Alleluia!
(John 20:1-18)
Rejoice and Sing: Christos Anesti
Glory be to God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – now in this world
and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Beloved of God and my beloved, as the darkness of this night is dispelled by the flames of the paschal candles I greet you with the ancient proclamation of the church, with the proclamation that dispels all darkness: Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed! This is not the night for lawyers to quibble over marriage contracts and debate pre-nuptual agreements. This is the night for the wedding party to rejoice and sing, for the bridegroom has arrived, and we, as wise virgins with lamps trimmed and glowing, are invited to the feast. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed! This is not the night for weary slaves to dread another dawn and the making of bricks without straw. This is the night for free men and free women to rejoice and sing, for Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us, and the Paschal Lamb who was slain has risen victorious from the grave, trampling down death by death. And we, as sons and daughters and slaves no longer, are being led forth by the mighty hand and outstretched arm of our God Almighty. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed! This is not the night for the race of man, the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve, to bewail their fallen state – their corruption and alienation. This is the night for the image-bearers of God to rejoice and sing, for Christ, the new Adam, has made all creation new, restored the divine image in man, and reconciled man to God. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Once we sang the song of exiles, or held our tongues in silence because we could not sing.
1 By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, *
when we remembered you, O Zion.
2 As for our harps, we hung them up *
on the trees in the midst of that land.
3 For those who led us away captive asked us for a song,
and our oppressors called for mirth: *
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song *
upon an alien soil (Ps 137:1-4, BCP 1979)?
Once we sang the song of exiles, or held our tongues in silence because we could not sing, for we were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12, NKJV).
But now in Christ Jesus [we] who once we far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Now, therefore, [we] are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom [we] also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit (Eph 2:13, 19-22).
Now we sing the song of citizens. Now we cannot hold our tongues in silence.
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
then were we like those who dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are glad indeed (Ps 126:1-4, BCP 1979).
This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Once we groaned in the bondage and corruption of all creation, groaned with the labors of birthpangs, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Now we rejoice for Christ dwells in us and though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus dwells in us, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in us (cf Rom 8:9 ff). This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Once we were deaf to the song heaven, to the praise which resounds continually around the throne. But on this night the tomb is opened and so, too, are our ears opened to hear
the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, [we hear] saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever” (Rev 5:11-13, NKJV).
This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is washed away. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when the fallen are restored to innocence and those who mourn to joy. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
This is the night, when earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God. This is the night to rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed (Exsultet, adapted)!
Let no Christian remain silent on this holy night. Let all heaven and earth together rejoice and sing. Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
The Day of Resurrection! Let us be illumined, O ye people! The Passover, the Passover of the Lord! From death unto life, and from earth unto heaven hath Christ our God brought us over, singing a song of victory!
Christ is risen from the dead!
Let us purify our senses and we shall behold Christ, radiant with the light ineffable of the Resurrection, and shall hear him say, in accents clear: Rejoice! as we sing the song of victory.
Christ is risen from the dead!
For meet is it that the heavens should rejoice, and that the earth should be glad, and that the whole world, both visible and invisible, should keep the Feast. For Christ is risen, the everlasting joy!
The Day of Resurrection! Let us be illumined, O ye people! The Passover, the Passover of the Lord! From death unto life, and from earth unto heaven hath Christ our God brought us over, singing a song of victory!
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tomb bestowing life (Easter Service, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America).
Tonight, the wise ones of this age, the skeptics will shake their heads in wonder that gullible ones still cling to myths of resurrection. They will doubt, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Tonight, the academic theologians will debate atonement theories and the role of resurrection in our salvation. They will debate, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Tonight, the merchants will hawk their wares: cards and chocolate bunnies and crème-filled eggs – resurrection as commodity. Wait one day and you can have resurrection on sale. They will take their profit, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Tonight, the world will turn as always – though we know everything has changed – the world will turn as always and turn blind eyes and deaf ears, oblivious to the glory and power of God in the resurrection of Christ. They will ignore the resurrection, but we will rejoice and sing, for Christ is risen from the dead, the everlasting joy!
Lift up your heads, O ye people,
and be lifted up, O ye saints of God,
for Christ is risen from the dead
trampling down death by death
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Lift up your heads, O ye people,
and be lifted up, O ye saints of God,
for the Kingdom of God has come
and Christ has begun his reign.
Lift up your heads, O ye people,
and be lifted up, O ye saints of God,
for this night we can rejoice and sing
and give voice to all creation:
Christos anesti – Christ is risen! Alithos anesti – He is risen indeed!
Amen! Alleluia!
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