Year A – Easter Vigil
Full-text of the Appointed Lessons (RSV and NRSV), with instructions for lectors
April 4 – Easter Vigil, Year A – BCP
ILLUMINATION for the New Testament Lesson
Easter Vigil, Year A, April 4, 2026
Romans 6:3-11
Paul’s focus is on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and baptism’s link to this saving act. Through the sacrament we come to regard ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God.
A reading (lesson) from the Letter of Paul to the Romans:
(Lead in with) RSV and NRSV: Do you not know…
Conclude with The word of the Lord or Here endeth, etc.
Revised Standard Version
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, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
New Revised Standard Version
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
ILLUMINATION for the Gospel Lesson
Easter Vigil, Year A, April 4, 2026
Matthew 28:1-10
Two of Jesus’ disciples encounter him after he is raised from the dead. Our Lord promises that he will meet his followers in Galilee.
A reading (lesson) from the Gospel according to Matthew:
(Lead in with) RSV and NRSV: After the Sabbath…
Conclude with The word of the Lord or Here endeth, etc. If read by an ordained person as the eucharistic gospel, conclude with The gospel of the Lord.
Revised Standard Version
After the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
New Revised Standard Version
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
April 4 – Easter Vigil, Year A – RCL
ILLUMINATION for the New Testament Lesson
Easter Vigil, Year A, April 4, 2026
Romans 6:3-11
Paul’s focus is on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and baptism’s link to this saving act. Through the sacrament we come to regard ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God.
A reading (lesson) from the Letter of Paul to the Romans:
(Lead in with) RSV and NRSV: Do you not know…
Conclude with The word of the Lord or Here endeth, etc.
Revised Standard Version
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, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
New Revised Standard Version
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
ILLUMINATION for the Gospel Lesson
Easter Vigil, Year A, April 4, 2026
Matthew 28:1-10
Two of Jesus’ disciples encounter him after he is raised from the dead. Our Lord promises that he will meet his followers in Galilee.
A reading (lesson) from the Gospel according to Matthew:
(Lead in with) RSV and NRSV: After the Sabbath…
Conclude with The word of the Lord or Here endeth, etc. If read by an ordained person as the eucharistic gospel, conclude with The gospel of the Lord.
Revised Standard Version
After the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
New Revised Standard Version
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Living Word | Lectionary Preaching Aids
Preaching Today
Jo Wells: Gloves-Off Time
“Humanity discovers something it didn’t already know about God: that at the moment of truth, God’s sovereignty, dignity, majesty and power will be suspended and God’s life will be placed entirely in human hands. ‘Here I am.’ If Mount Moriah is where God tested humanity, Mount Calvary is where humanity tested God. And on Mount Calvary we see God’s true colors.”
Dorsey McConnell: The End of Fear
“God actually narrows the narrow place. I have suggested that the conquest of death and the fear of death has to be the conquest of my particular death, my particular fear. The battleground of that conquest is narrow indeed. That place is the borrowed grave, where the body of Jesus was hurriedly wrapped and laid by his grieving and frantic friends.”
Nathan Humphrey: For They Were Afraid
“Mark’s gospel is not just about failing; it is not the gospel of terror! Seeing our flawed reflection as if in a mirror is hardly ‘good news.’ But that’s not Mark’s message. Rather, the overwhelming good news of Mark’s gospel is that even when we do fail Christ, Jesus never fails us. Jesus never fails us; even death cannot hold him.”
Jon Chalmers: Do You Realize What I Have Done for You?
“Through our participation in his death and his rising to life we have become that royal priesthood, that holy nation. We have been invited to share in the life of him who came to us and with who we hope to life eternally. We have come from God and we are going to God.”
Classic Texts
Lancelot Andrewes: Fall and Rising
“By Christ’s rising, it falls out to be a fall, that we may fall, and yet get up again. For, if Christ is risen from it, then is there a rising; if a rising of one, then may there be of another.”
Gregory the Great: Frightening and Sweet
“Now the almighty God is both frightening for sinners and gentle for the righteous; It is therefore fitting that the angel, witness of the resurrection, showed himself with a lightning-like face and a white coat, so that even his appearance terrified the reprobate and reassured the saints.”
John Henry Newman: Renewing Grace
“Even those then who in the end turn out to be saints and attain to life eternal, yet are not born saints, but have with God’s regenerating and renewing grace to make themselves saints. It is nothing but the cross of Christ, without us and within us, which changes any one of us.”
Bede: The Gate Is Unbarred
“One woman [i.e. Eve], coming out of the garden, opened a path away from heavenly joys; now many women come and give the information that the gate is unbarred.”
Articles on Themes from the Night’s Texts
Graham Kings: Miriam: Always More to Be Sought Out
“So Miriam sings with joy and delight, and we are caught up in this painting. Her song, traditionally and evocatively, has been sung at the Easter Vigil throughout the Christian centuries and throughout the world. May we join with her, here and in heaven.”
Matthew Olver: Where to Place Baptisms at the Easter Vigil
“Part of the logic of the traditional order of the vigil — new fire and Exsultet; readings; baptism; first Easter Eucharist — is the fundamental liturgical principle that liturgical rites don’t mean X or Y. Rather, liturgical rites disclose the fundamental mystery of Christ that had been hidden for ages and is now revealed in these last days.”
Graham Kings: Miriam: Always More to Be Sought Out
“So Miriam sings with joy and delight, and we are caught up in this painting. Her song, traditionally and evocatively, has been sung at the Easter Vigil throughout the Christian centuries and throughout the world. May we join with her, here and in heaven.”
Matthew Olver: Where to Place Baptisms at the Easter Vigil
“Part of the logic of the traditional order of the vigil — new fire and Exsultet; readings; baptism; first Easter Eucharist — is the fundamental liturgical principle that liturgical rites don’t mean X or Y. Rather, liturgical rites disclose the fundamental mystery of Christ that had been hidden for ages and is now revealed in these last days.”
