Easter Vigil Sermon: "Oh, Holy Night"

+ Easter Vigil – April 4^th, 2015 +

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to redeem a slave, You gave Your Son.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to rescue us fallen sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, You sent a Second Adam who is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to keep us safe from an eternal flood of judgment, You sent Jesus who is our true man of rest to shelter us in the ark of Christ’s body, the Church.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to make us faithful children of Abraham, You gave your Son, Your only Son, to be our substitute, and provide the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to deliver us from bondage to sin and death, the prophet greater than Moses leads us on his greater exodus through the waters of Baptism into Your promised land.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to raise our dusty bones from death, Your Son Jesus was laid into our tomb so that by his dying and rising, He would breathe new life upon us.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to redeem us from suffering and death, You engraved our iniquities into the rock of Christ’s flesh, and inscribed our names forever in the Lamb’s book of life.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to save us from the eternal abyss, our Greater Jonah went down into the belly of the earth and was spewed out again three days later for us.

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to dispel the darkness of sin, You gave this night, when Christ the Life and Light of the world, arose from the dead, broke the seal of the grave, and gave us the dawn of Your new creation.

O night that is brighter than day,
O night more dazzling than the sun,
O night more sparkling than fresh snow,
O night more brilliant than all our lamps!
O night that is sweeter than Paradise,
O night delivered from darkness,
O night that dispels the sleep of sin,
O night that makes us keep vigil with the angels,
O night terrible for the demons,
O night desired by all the year,
O night that leads the bridal Church to her Spouse,
O night that is mother to those enlightened!
O night in which the Devil, sleeping, was despoiled,
O night in which the Heir brings the co-heirs to their heritage!  
(Prayer of Asterius of Pontus (341-c. 400), for Easter Eve)

Oh, how wonderful and beyond all telling is Your mercy toward us, O God, that to redeem a slave, You gave Your Son.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.