We bought a new candle this week. When I say “we,” I mean Lord of Life and when I say “candle,” I’m not talking about just any candle. The candle we purchased is the massive thirty-six inches tall by three inches wide centerpiece of our worship space that hovers by the baptismal font. When placed in the stand, it will tower at almost seven feet tall.
It is so exciting!
Some candles are only for decoration. The tapers in the arrangement on the dining room table, the vanilla pillars on the mantle, and the tea lights nestled behind glass figurines won’t be lit. They are there just for the vibe and ambiance. But this massive column of a candle was created to burn.
Why is this a big deal? Candles and fire play a central role in our Christian worship and lives. We have candles on the altar and pass the light of Christ to the newly baptized. We hear stories about God using fire and light to guide, protect, invite, and calm God’s people throughout time. We sing songs about shining and sharing the light of Christ. Here at Lord of Life, we also have a candle sculpture that we light as yet another way to pray.
Our Paschal candle symbolizes the risen Christ. The term Paschal comes from the Latin Pascha, which comes from the Hebrew Pesach, which in Hebrew means 'Passover', and relates to the Paschal mystery of salvation. This candle is often decorated with a cross, symbols of the resurrection, the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet, Alpha and Omega, and the year. (You may notice that it currently says “2021.” We will not shift to the current year until Easter. Watch for it.)
While we won’t light it every week, this pillar of fire will preside over baptisms and funerals, church festivals like Easter, Pentecost, Reformation, Christmas, and will glow for weeks through the Easter season. There is a good chance that this candle will be with us for two or three years! Imagine what it will see during its tenure. What will happen in our congregation, community, and world while this candle stands as witness among us?
As our Music Director John Johns pulled the previous Paschal candle out of the stand this week, I reflected on all that it had seen in its years with us: New babies, baptisms, and weddings, hundreds of worship services, thousands of songs and hymns, millions of words read from the Bible in community. It also burned bright through Share the Light construction, the COVID pandemic, online worship services, and each of our own private tragedies and celebrations.
It is no accident that the Paschal candle often is decorated with the Alpha and Omega. Right now, you can see the letters on the green banner behind the candle in worship, too. Jesus says,
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).
Jesus is with us start to finish. Wherever we go and whatever life throws at us, we are hemmed in by the love and presence of God. This confidence is what keeps us going. This promise helps us shine!
Christmas Eve worship culminates with the candle lighting moment. In the darkened sanctuary, a single light is shared and spreads until everyone is aglow with the light of Christ. As it is passed, the light burns even brighter and multiplies in a way reminiscent of words we sing during the Easter Vigil service:
“We sing the glories of this pillar of fire, the brightness of which is not diminished even when its light is divided and borrowed.”
It will be almost a month before we light the Paschal candle for the first time on Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent begins, but get ready. We’re going to let it burn. Until then, let’s meet at the baptismal font to hear words of forgiveness and promise that light us up.
Shine, Jesus shine!
Pastor Lowell Michelson