Holy Saturday Vigil

Lectionary 41

But when they came to the nations, where they went, they desecrated my holy name, for people said of them: 
“These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave their land.” 
So I relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel desecrated among the nations to which they came. 
Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sake do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you desecrated among the nations to which you came. But I will show the holiness of my great name... Ezekiel 36:20-23

I have ordinarily taken a sabbath rest on this silent day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. This year I make an exception; call it a retired guy's privilege. Part of the reason for my silence was the overwhelming number of readings of the Easter Vigil service. No homilist, nor any team of homilists, could adequately address all of them during this service -- unless they had a congregation with iron butts and a lot of coffee.
And so I'll remark about part of one of the seven Old Testament readings, one by Ezekiel which might not be read this year in many churches. 

I've only noticed the above passage from Ezekiel in the past year. I find it a sobering reminder that the Lord's purposes are not my own. If I am concerned about my salvation, and that of my friends, family, and friars, the Lord may be as well, but he has another, somewhat different, more compelling purpose. We do well to notice that. 

The Lord's Prayer, after a proper address, "Our Father who art in heaven," begins by stating what should be our first and most important desire, "Hallowed be thy name!" 

But perhaps I've not been paying much intention to the prayer or the Lord who taught us this invocation. I came to prayer with my concerns topmost. I want something! It might be for my benefit, like peace of mind, self-control, a generous and merciful spirit. It might be concern for a friend or family member. Or it might be a more immediate crisis that occupies all my attention. It might even be something of no importance, mean-spirited, or wrong. In any case, my prayer is about me and what I want. 

The LORD, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, replies, 

"Not for your sake do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you desecrated....

Our purpose as God's baptized, holy people is to hallow the Lord's Name; that is, to Bless the Lord. 

We should reflect God's holiness and people should notice it. They might admire it; they might despise it. But if we fail -- if we hide our light under a bushel basket -- God's choice and gift to us means nothing. We make a mockery of God's name. And that, it needn't be said, is not well advised. 

Of course, our concerns are real; and the Lord certainly wants his chosen people, this remnant who remembers his holy Name, to pray for the earth and all its people. Like the Lord Jesus, we represent before our good and beautiful Lord God of Heaven and Earth all of his creation. All humankind should express the Earth's grateful response to God's creativity, and the Descendants of Abraham should be the first to do so. The Lord wants to hear us. 

And so we come with confidence to prayer, bringing our friends, family, neighbors, and enemies; and reassuring them that the Lord invites us to relax and enjoy his company. He is so good, and we are so glad to be here while we sing his praises! We model with our lives how one should comport oneself in God's presence. We are happy, at ease, assured, and always aware of God's fond gaze upon us. 

And so we sing God's praises. "Hallowed be thy name!" We know God's name and we hallow it with the sacrifice of our lives.