During Holy week we have a very special worship service on Holy Saturday called the Easter Vigil where people are baptized and others join the church. It is the evening before Easter Day and in the service is the very first proclamation of Easter. Why do we do this service and why do we baptize on that day?
Vigil comes from the Latin word, vigilia, which means “wakefulness” and is a time when people stay awake through the night to anticipate or prepare for what is coming the next day. Perhaps you have heard of or seen a candle light vigil, where people gather carrying candles after sunset in order to support a cause. In the same sense, a vigil in the church is a gather of the church in order to prepare for a specific event. In this case, it is the gathering of the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the Resurrection at Easter. The tradition of the Easter Vigil is an ancient one. I have read writings from Easter vigil traditions in the 5th Century (400’s A.D.) and it is a powerful time of worship and celebration of the work of Christ.
Our Easter vigil begins with a reading of the wonderful works of God found in the Old Testament. The focus for us is the faithfulness of God throughout time. As we are waiting expectantly for the action of God, we remember God’s goodness and faithfulness in the past.
After this we have the entrance of the light. This is the time in our worship when the Christ candle, which was taken out during Friday’s worship to symbolize the death of Christ, is brought back into our worship as we sing “Alleluia” for the first time during the season. We then light our candles off of the Christ candle, reminding us that the light of Christ is to shine in each of us, and we then process to the sanctuary for the next part of the worship service – the baptisms.
Historically, the Vigil has been a time of baptism because the Resurrection of Christ is the foundation for our faith and our hope, and as St. Paul writes in Romans 6:3-4, through baptism we are buried with Christ in hopes of a resurrection and life like his. The Easter Vigil is then an opportunity to connect people through the power of baptism to the reality of the resurrection that is celebrated the very next day.
After we have baptized, we then welcome new members to the church. Our celebration closes with Holy Communion as we feast on the grace that God has given us in Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful celebration as we share our table with our new members and those newly baptized.
The Easter Vigil is a powerful and moving service that has roots in ancient Christianity. It connects us to the death and resurrection of Christ and in celebrating baptism we are not only following in the footsteps of Christians who have been doing this for centuries, but we are also celebrating what the Resurrection of Christ means for us.