The Light of Christ

Pentecost. An extraordinary day in the church calendar. The only Sunday on which we use red vestments. And I love this vivid, tasseled red chasuble. But did you know that the Prayer Book says absolutely nothing about liturgical colors? Nor are there any codes or manuals or laws of the church that stipulate which colors should be used for which days or seasons. We could use yellow for Pentecost or teal or eggplant. And although many of you would probably bolt for the doors never to return, we would technically have broken no rules of the church. Another subject on which the Prayer Book is remarkably silent is candles. You can read every single word, every single rubric, in the Prayer Book pertaining to the celebration of the Eucharist and find absolutely no mention of candles. No mention at all and certainly no direction on how many or where they should be placed or (acolytes will be pleased to hear) in what order they should be lit.

Which makes it all the more remarkable that one candle does get quite a bit of print in certain parts of the Prayer Book. It is that candle there, the Paschal candle. It has a name. Although we sometimes call it the Christ candle, it is the Paschal candle. Paschal means Easter. That candle burns with the light, not just of Christ, but of Christ’s Easter resurrection. And not only is the Paschal candle mentioned in the Prayer Book, mentioned by name, it is the very focal point of part of an entire service, the Easter Vigil. Liturgical scholars describe the Easter Vigil as the most important service in the life of the church. From the first centuries of the church, it has defined our Christian identity. Because in that service, like no other, we journey from the depth of human sin into salvation, we are led out of darkness into the light; we pass through death into new life. It is not just celebration, but transformation.  In the Vigil the process of salvation, the journey of resurrection, are made real. By God’s grace, we become Christians. "Dear friends in Christ," the Vigil begins, "on this most holy night." On this most holy of all nights, the Paschal candle leads us out of the eternal darkness of human sin into the eternal light of Christ’s forgiveness.

The Prayer Book doesn’t say anything about when or whether any of these other candles should burn at all, but it does say that the Paschal candle burns at all services from Easter Day through the Day of Pentecost. Throughout these great Fifty Days of Easter, of the Paschal season, this candle has burned here to enlighten our worship. This resurrection light has been: A light for us to read by, so that the words of Scripture might be heard and understood in light of the resurrection. This light has been a light to sing by, its flame dancing with joy, encouraging us to raise our voices in praise. This resurrection light has been a light to pray by, so that we might always find a flicker of hope as we send our prayers out into the world’s darkness. Just by chance, for us at St. John’s, this light has been a beacon as we formally celebrated the beginning of our new ministry together… a beacon to draw all of our eyes together and forward on the Gospel mission we share.

Surely when Jesus himself walked the earth among his disciples he was for them the same sort of light. He opened their hearts to hear the Word of God, enlightening them with the Scripture’s meaning. He was bright with the joy of God so that their hearts danced with hope. He brought healing and peace into the stormy darkness of that world. He led them, like a beacon, forward, always forward, in their mission to proclaim and make real God’s kingdom.

Today is Pentecost. And there is a reason so many churches use vivid, red vestments on this particular day. The red reminds us of the fire, the dancing flames of Pentecost. We heard the Pentecost story from Acts this morning. The disciples, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, were once again huddled inside a room, clinging to one another. "And suddenly from heaven there came the sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit." Divided tongues, as of fire, rested on each of them. It is the same light, God’s light, brought by the Holy Spirit. The Paschal light of the resurrected Christ… divided tongues, as of fire, rested on each of them.

After today, the Paschal candle will not burn there in that spot. Its light has been given to us. The Prayer Book does indicate that it will burn at burials and baptisms. The rubric for the burial offices says: "A member of the congregation, carrying the lighted Paschal Candle, may lead the procession into the church." A member of the congregation. You are now the bearers of the Paschal light. We have baptisms this morning. Four of them, in fact. The baptism rubric reads: "After the Baptism, a candle (which may be lighted from the Paschal Candle) may be given to each of the newly baptized." "Receive the light of Christ, as a symbol of the new life enkindled within you." We will all renew our baptismal vows this morning. Receive the light of Christ…

Surely it is Christ’s presence that draws us here on Sunday mornings. We come seeking Christ. And Christ will always be here for us… present in the Body of Christ, our fellow Christians, present in God’s living Word proclaimed, really present in the Bread and Wine. But next Sunday the Paschal Candle will not be present here. Not because Christ is absent. But as a reminder to us that we carry the resurrection light in our hearts, and we carry it where ever we go. Not just here. We are not just people who come here seeking Christ; we are people sent bearing Christ into the world. We carry the Easter light with us out into the world. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Jesus’ words in this morning’s Gospel. As the Father sent me to be the light of the world, so I send you to be the light of the world. To bear the light into the world.

Just as Jesus illumined and enlightened those around him with the word of God… Just as this Paschal light has shone brightness upon the Holy Scriptures as we read and hear them… So we are to illumine and enlighten the world with the Word of God. We are to shine forth with God’s hope and joy. We are to heal and guide. We cannot claim to be unworthy or ill equipped. We bear the light of Christ.

There is a longer phrase that can be used when the baptismal candle is passed to the newly baptized, when the Paschal light is symbolically given to those who are baptized. We baptize infants this morning. Those of us of more mature understanding would do well to remember these words. "Receive the light of Christ as a sign that you have passed from darkness into light. Shine as his light in the world to the glory of God the Father."

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