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| Come to the Water: Families celebrate the Easter Season |
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As my family prepared for the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night, we listened to musicians warming up, saw parish staff members arranging flowers in the front of the church and heard them give instructions to volunteers who would spread the light from the Paschal Candle and sprinkle the congregation with blessed Easter water, and watched families pouring into church in their Easter best with candles in their hands. As the Vigil began, the entire community was poised, ready to begin the celebration. The pastor blessed the fire, and the Paschal Candle was carried into the dark church. He intoned "Christ, be our light, shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness…" and the community responded joyfully and passionately. The sung prayer asking that the light of Christ fill our lives thundered through the church building and set the stage for all that was to come. As the evening continued, we heard the story of salvation beautifully proclaimed. Well prepared readers and singers made the account of our communal journey of faith come alive. One reading in particular, however, stood out for me. A woman stepped up to the baptismal font, and invited us, in the words of Isaiah, chapter 55, to "come to the water!" Her proclamation reminded me that we are called, challenged, and invited to let go of the things that weigh us down and be washed clean in the waters of salvation. "Come to the water!" I imagined a hot day at the seashore, or by a beautiful lake and river, jumping into cool, refreshing water, and being renewed. In our community, we were blessed to have a number of adults preparing for Christian initiation. For those of us who sometimes take our baptismal commitment for granted, these adults challenged us by their willingness to come to the water – to hear God's invitation to move away from the shores of their lives and plunge into the waters of salvation. As I listened to them proclaim their faith in God, and saw their readiness to become a part of our community of faith, I was touched, awed, and humbled. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, we don't need any money to come to the water, and we don't need status. We simply need a willingness to be open to God's love that washes over us in the waters that rejuvenate and revitalize. The Easter message invites us to new life, where we can contemplate the life-giving mystery of God and enter into it with hearts full of gratitude. That was the experience of my family as we attended the Easter Vigil last week. I left, however, with a further question: how do our families "come to the water" not just at an Easter Vigil celebration, but throughout the Easter season? Remember, "Easter" doesn't end on Easter Sunday night, it continues for the 50 days leading up to Pentecost – almost two months of joyous celebration! Here are a few suggestions: ϖ Come to the water around you, and experience it as a gracious gift of God in your midst. Enjoy the sounds, smells, and sensations of the water that refreshes us. Some of you may be fortunate enough to have water near your homes – appreciate it – be mindful of its many uses in your life. Water is something we sometimes fail to appreciate – but remember, there are many places in the world that are far more aware of its value than we are. ϖ Come to the water of life, plunge into it, and celebrate it! Coming to the water doesn't mean nervously sticking your toes in – it means jumping in with abandon, enthusiasm, and passion. Remember your early childhood experiences of a bath or a day at the beach or pool – time filled with splashing, playing, and enjoying every moment of the experience – let go of your inhibitions and relish the water of life! ϖ Come to the water of faith, becoming aware that it represents both invitation and challenge. We are invited not only to celebrate, but to let go of the burdens that keep us from jumping into it with joy. As families, ask yourselves what keeps you on the shore instead of in the water? What are some of the ways that you can grow so that you can enter more fully into the waters of the Easter season? ϖ Come to the water of resurrection as it is found in the Easter season scriptures. Reflect on the stories of Jesus' appearances to his friends, and the accounts of the disciples who spread the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection to all who would listen. ϖ Come to the water of your local church community on a regular basis. Respond to the invitation to come even if you haven't been there in a while. For more and more Christians, Sunday Eucharist may be an infrequent event – but the Easter season reminds us that the more we participate in the Eucharist, the more we will appreciate its significance in our lives. If there are gaps in your family's participation, can you take the initiative to fill them? We don't change overnight, but it's never too late to start to change the path -- This Holy Week, my family experienced the waters of salvation and refreshment. After a week of journeying toward Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday's movement from hosannas to crucifixion in a few short minutes, to Holy Thursday's invitation to enter the mystery of the Eucharist as a celebration of loving, generous service, to Good Friday's experience of the depth of Christ's total self-gift for us, we jumped into the waters of hope and new life and reveled in the joy of the Easter Vigil. Our task now, and yours, is to move beyond Easter day and into the Easter season – to come, as families, to the waters of risen life! © 2006 Joann Heaney-Hunter, all rights reserved. |
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