Holy Fire

(Editorial, Hyde Park Seminarian Easter Edition)

Jerusalem. Holy Saturday.
Below, in the courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre, the Holy Fire is lit from within Christ’s tomb and quickly spreads to candles held by the crowds. Each year planes stand ready at the airport, to carry that fire to Greece and all the cities, kindling hope sparked first in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, up on the roof, Coptic Christians are dancing through the night, beating their drums, until sunrise. You want to join them, to be surrounded by the Spirit.

***
Chicago. Holy Saturday.
A bonfire is lit in a church courtyard in the city. The people gather.
Outside, fire trucks and ambulances
Sirens in the night
A paschal candle lit, fire quickly spreads to candles held by the crowd
Entering the sanctuary
Vigil is kept in the night: Prayers, hymns, and retelling the history of our salvation:
Creation, fall. Adam and Eve, cast out but lives spared from death in the wilderness.
Noah, a dove, the ark. Tossed about in deadly floods but landing on dry ground; a new promise.
Isaac, saved, spared from terrible death.
Moses, Miriam, and the people.
Spared from an army’s slaughter as the sea opens up.
They are saved.
Life spared from certain death--
Dry bones reconstituted in a valley
Three men delivered from a furnace
Over and over again:
Ways of life opening up to conquer the forces of death.

And now Jesus Christ. Resurrected. Life that overcame certain death in our world and in our systems of justice.

And now and always, us. Saved. Spared from certain death, the certain punishment for we, the killers of God.

God’s justice is different.

***
In the church, all candles from the vigil are extinguished. It is silent.
The faint scent of lilies enters the room, the first sign of new life.
A shout in the darkness:
Christ is Risen!
In the darkness, a chorus of replies:
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Again and again, this call and response. Then:
Light so bright it blinds your eyes
Banners unfurled: Alleluia!
A chorus of handbells, the pipes of the organ nearly bursting, the choir sings:
‘This is the feast of victory for our Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia!’
The word is preached, Communion is served
Bread pressed into palms, sweet wine poured from the cup
Blessings, Benediction
Exuberance, celebration, a sigh of relief:
The long Lent is over. Resurrection is here!
Moving from the chapel to the fellowship hall:
More wine, a feast in the middle of the night
More light, people from the streets drift in to eat
New friends made in sanctified space.

Outside, bitter cold. Snow dusts the ground.
The city still dies, the world still suffers
Yet,
“Jesus Christ comes to stand with us in the midst of our death-filled lives!”
words of the preacher not forgotten
words of hope for another year
Easter is here.

Le Anne Clausen spent three Easters in Jerusalem before start-ing seminary. Saturday night was her second vigil visiting Augustana Lutheran at 55th/University. Sermon quote from Robert O. Smith.