Genesis 2:2–3

April 3 2010 Easter Vigil Sermon

Vigil of Easter

The Restful Word

Genesis 2:2–3; 1 Peter 3:18–22

And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to Him. (1 Peter 3:18–22)

Sermon: The Restful Word (Genesis 2:2–3; 1 Peter 3:18–22)

In the rhythm of creation, the seventh day is a day of rest. Having finished the work of creation, God rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. Having finished the work of redeeming His creation from bondage to sin, decay, and death, the Son of God rested in the tomb and hallowed the grave. It is a Sabbath to the Lord.

God rested from His creative labors. Jesus rested from His redemptive labors, having uttered the "It is finished" from His cross. His rest indicates that truly "it is finished." There is indeed nothing more to do. His body is reverently and secretly removed from the cross by two disciples, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the rabbi who had come to Jesus at night seeking wisdom. Nicodemus had brought spices and linens to wrap the body for burial. A new tomb was nearby, one in which no one had yet been laid. Things had to be done in haste, for the next day was a restful day, the Sabbath, which meant no work. Not even burial. In haste, Jesus is laid to rest.

The One who promised rest to the weary and burdened now finds His rest in the tomb, in the sleep of death. Jesus treated death as though it were sleep. When Jairus's twelve-year-old daughter died, Jesus assured her grief-stricken parents, "She is not dead but sleeping" (Luke 8:52). When His friend Lazarus died, Jesus announced to His disciples, "Lazarus has fallen asleep" (John 11:11). Death is as sleep to Jesus, and now He spends this Sabbath asleep in the grave.

To be baptized is to be joined to Jesus in His death and buried with Him in His tomb. The apostle Paul writes in the Book of Romans:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (6:3–4)

This is why the Vigil of Easter is traditionally a service of Baptism, to underscore our baptismal union with Christ in His death and burial through Baptism.

This is also the recurring theme through many of the Vigil's readings: the creation, the flood, the Red Sea. Through water, God creates and re-creates: He births a nation, He cleanses from sin, He delivers from death. The font is our tomb, the place where one who is dead in sin may be buried and arise to live. We are joined to Jesus. His perfect life and death are the spices and linens of our burial, as He wraps us in His death-won righteousness. To be "clothed with Christ," as we are in Baptism, is not only to be clothed with His life and His righteousness, but it is also to be clothed with His death, the death by which we live, the death that brings us rest.

Requiescat in pace. Rest in peace. RIP for short. You see it on old tombstones. New "grave markers" tend to have something a bit more sentimental. We tend to sugarcoat death and the grave. We live in denial of it. Our funeral practices betray us. We cover the piles of dirt, we avoid the hole in the ground, some would even avoid the cemetery altogether. There is a harsh finality to the grave, the final wages for our sin. This is one payday we would rather avoid.

Rest in peace is much closer to the profound truth of this day. Our peace is in the rest of Jesus, and His rest is in His death for our sins. Our peace is to die, daily, with Jesus in our Baptism. Our peace is to rest in the tomb of Jesus, knowing that this is a sleep that will bring health and life.

You entered the church in darkness, as though entering the dark tomb. But notice that you were not alone in the darkness. The light of Christ went before you and goes with you. Death is darkness, but a glorious Light now glows, warm and life-giving—Jesus the Christ, the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome. He has conquered death in His death. "It is finished." At sunrise, the whole world will know the great, good news. The stone will be rolled away and the morning sun will reveal the good news.

The Vigil of Easter is the Eve of Easter, the evening before the morning. In the way of the biblical calendar, it is already Easter Day, and yet it is still dark. Now and not yet. On this night the resurrection is but a small, flickering light as we are immersed in the mystery of this crucified and risen Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. This is what it means to live "baptismally," to live as one who has been baptized into the death and life of Jesus. Though we be in darkness, yet there is light. Though we die, yet do we live. Though we must rest in the grave, we rest in peace, for the Lord Jesus is with us and will not abandon us. He has gone down ahead of us.

Requiescat in pace, dear baptized believers. Rest in the peace of Jesus. Rest in His Word of forgiveness spoken to you. Rest in His Baptism. Rest at His banquet table, and be refreshed by His body and blood. Today has been a day of rest. Tonight comes the first light of resurrection.

This is the night when You brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt and led them through the Red Sea on dry ground.

This is the night when all who believe in Christ are delivered from bondage to sin and are restored to life and immortality.

This is the night when Christ, the Life, arose from the dead. The seal of the grave is broken and the morning of the new creation breaks forth out of night.

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

How holy is this night when all wickedness is put to flight and sin is washed away.

How holy is this night when innocence is restored to the fallen and joy is given to those downcast.

How blessed is the night when man is reconciled to God in Christ.¹