Let There Be Light

After weeks of struggle in the cocoon of Lent, the butterfly of Easter begins to take flight tonight.

We will come together and, as usual, remind ourselves of our story and share a meal. These have been dark days filled with betrayal, injustice, torture, death, and hopelessness. Tonight, our story begins in the darkness.

Slowly, one candle at a time, light will flicker into life.

We will remind ourselves of our story. I will tell the first part tonight, about how we began in the darkness. Each part of the story we remember will shed light of its own. The parts will come together and, as they do, we remember. We remember that there is light, and that there is life in the world.

The light will shine out in the darkness, and the darkness will not be able to overcome it. We will come to life and pull out bells and triangles and tambourines as we celebrate the light and the new life emerging to flood the world.

We will remind ourselves that a very small spark creates the light that shines in the darkness. We will recognize again that it is darkest just before the light shines, and that light makes life possible.

Tonight we will hear the words about the members of our very extended family again, and we will remember. Our story will remind us that light fills the room, even in the darkness. We will listen, and we will see.

We will remember that we are vessels of light, that we help open the eyes of others to the light as we share our story. Our light will spark the lights of people around us.

The shining butterfly of Easter will fly out into the world, spreading light into the darkness.

[Image by Daniel Dionne]