Trinity Parish Church - Easter Vigil - March 22, 2008

Exodus 14:10-31, 15:20-21 & Matthew 28:1-10

The Rev. Rachel Endicott

Sheru le Yahweh, key ga'oh ga'ah, soos waroh gavoh ramah veyeam.  In case you didn't catch that the first time, Sheru le Yahweh, key ga'oh ga'ah, soos waroh gavoh ramah veyeam.  No, I'm not speaking in tongues this evening.  This is simply the original Hebrew translated as "Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea."

Part of the experience of being a first year student at Virginia Theological Seminary was taking Old Testament, OT1, and more precisely learning Sheru le Yahweh, the Song of Miriam.  In one of the very first classes as anxious new seminary students, we were asked to sit and repeat it as a class until we had it down pat.  Sheru le Yahweh - a wonderful Hebrew cry of triumph after the Israelites successfully flee from the Egyptians - is pivotal to the identity of both Jews and Christians.  God loved the Israelites so much that God, through Moses, stretches out a mighty arm and stops the water, allowing the Hebrews to walk on dry ground, a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left.

And the event is spectacular!  It's no wonder that, from the old Cecil B. DeMille version of the Hebrew escape to the more recent animated version of The Prince of Egypt, movie-goers are enthralled by these events.  The special effects are fantastic.  The theme of good triumphing over evil thrills those of us who want the "good guys" to win.  And there's the opportunity for a really bad guy in the person of Pharoah.  Amazingly, one of my criticisms of The Prince of Egypt was that they didn't use Sheru le Yahweh, the text of which is already in Scripture, as the song of triumph after the safe passage through the sea.

Sheru le Yahweh, "Sing to the Lord" is not only appropriate in response to the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.  It's appropriate as we delve into the resurrection story.  If the Hebrews sang this after their escape, how much more appropriate is it for us to say or sing this as we proclaim the resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ.  Certainly, in Jesus' rising from the dead, in his freeing us once for all, we can respond, "Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously."

But Jesus' rising from the dead, as opposed to the exodus of the Hebrews, is a harder series of events to portray, particularly on the big screen.  First, confusion abounds.  The events are murky, unsure.  Why isn't Jesus' body there?  Of course dead people stay where they're put!

Rather than excitement or victory in the air, there's fear.  The women are afraid.  The events of the previous days have been horrific enough, but now this too.  And here's another angel.  We like them as stylized, pretty beings on the covers of books or the like, but we're not so sure about the real angels.  They usually intervene in life when things are going crazy.  And as usual, this angel has to calm the women by saying, "Do not be afraid."

Finally, Jesus' arrival back from the dead is quiet, low key, not the makings of good big-screen settings.  He doesn't come in any flashy fashion or mode.

Plus, he doesn't show up in places of power.  He appears simply to a small group of women, women - who throughout much of history - have not been given the same importance, credited with the same worth.  We see this discrediting of women also with the Exodus reading.  We skipped the portion of Exodus today where Moses gets the credit first for singing the song of God's triumph over the Egyptians.  But as we read further, we find that it is Miriam who authors the song of joy and triumph.  And, in just manner, today we call this song the "Song of Miriam".  In the Gospel reading, it is not the men who first encounter Jesus, but women. They are stunned, but still manage to worship him, even taking hold of his feet.  Jesus informs them that he will see the others, brothers we are told, in Galilee.  The women are the first to see the risen Lord, and - like Marian - the first to no doubt sing and rejoice.

So these two events are at polar ends of the way ultimate joy can flow forth and God's power can conquer.  But as we recount them both on this night, we rejoice in so much.  We rejoice as we relive the joyful exodus of the Hebrews. We rejoice as we remember the waters of baptism through which we have come.  Rather than a terrifying wall of water like that which the Hebrews faced, we come to the gently moving water of baptism, the water of life. We rejoice at the ultimate breaking away, Jesus breaking the bonds of death.

That said, it's amazing how facing death influences our living.  Tuesdays with Morrie is a book supposedly about death.  It consists of a series of interviews by Mitch Albom with Morrie Schwartz, a college professor, who is dying of ALS.  But one of the conversations that points to life also reminds us of the relationship with death.  This discussion takes place on the fourth Tuesday.

            "The truth is, Mitch," he said, "once you learn how to die, you learn how to live ... Because...most of us all walk around as if we're sleepwalking.  We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do...When you realize you are going to die, you see everything much differently....The things you spend so much time on - all this work you do - might not seem important.  You might have to make room for some more spiritual things."

So on this day, this day of remembering our baptism - our wading through the water - and remembering Jesus' resurrection, we are making room for the spiritual things.  Room needs to be made for God, continued growth for children and adults, as we live fully into the new life in Christ.  For some of us, our baptisms, our entry into new life was a long time ago.  But we are blessed as we continue the journey!

As Christians, we die to our old selves and live to new life in Christ through our baptisms.  In the Episcopal Church, right before we bless the water in which we will baptize, we thank God for the water of baptism.  We are reminded that in the water of baptism, "we are buried with Christ in his death.  By it we share in his resurrection.  Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit."

But where does the celebration in which we participate this night leave us when we walk out the door of Trinity?  What will others see when they look at us?  Will they see a changed person?  Will they see a difference? 

Hopefully, they will see one of God's own, one who is always singing a song of praise to the Lord, even when the water appears to tower overhead or the threat of death looms large.  I, for one, will not easily forget to say Sheru le Yahweh, "Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously."  Whether that or some other song of thanks is your refrain, join in the great chorus as we all sing together in praise of our Lord God.