The End of the Ages
Lighting the New Fire at the Great Vigil of Easter
I’ve seen a number of memes lately that are variations on the same joke. In it, a parent is commenting on how their teenager rarely wants to talk about much of anything—until it’s 10:30 at night. I’m blessed to say that the first part of that joke doesn’t really apply to either of my kids. They’re fairly talkative a good chunk of the time. But the second part kind of does, because they get extra talkative when it’s time to go to bed.
One of those late-night moments of urgent conversation hit my son the other night. And it was a bit of a roller coaster. Somehow, we went from talking about how GPAs are calculated to his concern that AI will ruin human creativity and make it pointless to do anything in life that involves imagination because, and I quote, “the worst people have all the power when it comes to that kind of stuff, and they have no interest in making the world any better. They just want money. And . . .” the rant went on for a while.
It concluded with his prediction that we are heading toward a day that will look like the Pixar movie WALL-E—where humans are entertained to death in a space station with screens in front of their faces all day, never actually setting foot on earth. What I’m saying is, it got dark.
And, ok, on one hand, he wasn’t wrong about some of what he said. It does seem that nefarious forces are at work and that the desire for wealth and power warps people. He is validly concerned about the way he sees his friends completely absorbed by their devices. There are real concerns going on, even if the apocalyptic vision of WALL-E might be a bit of a stretch.
In the middle of our discussion, though, I remembered something that came up in last Sunday’s epistle reading. I didn’t preach on it—there’s always just too much to say—but it did pique my interest. Reflecting on some of the disasters of his own day, St. Paul says that “These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”
It was that last phrase—the idea that St. Paul and those to whom he was writing were those “on whom the ends of the ages have come.” Which isn’t all that far from what my son was feeling the other night. And not all that far from what humans in every age seem to have felt. That the end of history has arrived. That things are at their worst. That hope seems pointless. That the bad things happening all around us simply teach us how to weather the awfulness.
But, I wonder if St. Paul gets this one exactly right. To be clear, I’m a fan of St. Paul. This isn’t always the most popular thing for an Episcopal Priest to say, but I am. His theological vision is glorious and inspired by the Holy Spirit. His voice is central to Christianity, the life of the church, and spread of the gospel. But he’s just got the wrong end of this one. In this part of I Corinthians, he seems to buy into the same misunderstanding of the world that most humans have been tempted to down through the ages. The belief that The End has come.
But it hadn’t. And it hasn’t. At least not in the way that Paul or we would expect. Lent leads us to the true end of history. And it isn’t the disasters that befall us. It isn’t our AI overlords finally taken over. It isn’t bad people doing bad things for wealth and power. It is the wondrous cross and the empty tomb. It is the invitation we have to live not at the end of history, but beyond it, in God’s new day of faith, hope, and love.
In a couple of weeks we have the opportunity to walk the path of death and resurrection once again. I hope that you will join us on that journey:
Palm Sunday, April 13 - 8 am and 10:30 am - We will bless palms and remember the entry into Jerusalem and our Lord’s passion.
Wednesday, April 16 - We will celebrate the Holy Eucharist at 9:30 am, followed by Bible Study.
Maundy Thursday, April 17 - 6 pm - We will remember the Last Supper along with our Lord’s betrayal. After the service, you are invited to sign up for an hour to keep vigil through the night in prayer as we await Good Friday.
Good Friday, April 18 - 12 noon - We will mark the day of our Lord’s passion. We will observe Holy Communion, while Michael Mastronicola, our parish choir, and a string quartet offer a stunning rendition of David Von Kampen’s A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth.
The Great Vigil of Easter, April 20 - 6 am - We will light the new fire, read the stories of God’s salvation, and shout the joy of the resurrection of Jesus as the new day breaks, celebrating the first Eucharist of Easter.
Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt, April 20 - 8 am - We will enjoy a festive brunch feast from our breakfast crew, served through the morning. Our annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held around 9:30 am. Get your egg-hunter there on time! It happens fast!
Easter Day, April 20 - 10:30 am - We will sing and praise God and glory in the resurrection of Jesus with a service of Holy Eucharist, led by our parish choir and brass.
I pray that this Holy Week and Easter will help you see the truth. The end of the world isn’t upon us. Rather, the death and resurrection of Jesus teaches us that, in many ways, it’s already happened. Let the joy of Easter teach you that you live in the new day of grace.
