May 2015 – A Seminarian’s Letters Home

A Seminarian’s Letters Home May 2015

To the membership of Circle of Faith Parish:

Greetings to you all from Evanston, IL! The snow has melted, rain is falling, trees are budding out, and spring is definitely here! I’m still reveling in the fantastic Easter Vigil service we celebrated together – to get 95 people involved in different parts of worship, and to have well over 200 people show up on a Saturday night during Holy Week for a service they’d never had the chance to enjoy before – that takes a lot of work! Hats off to everyone who helped make such a wonderful liturgy happen.

One thing most of you experienced for the first time on the Vigil night is called asperges; that’s the part where Pr. Eric walked around and sprinkled everybody with water from an evergreen branch. Traditionally, that is done at the Vigil and all throughout the fifty days of Easter. In some places, it’s done throughout the year right after confession at the beginning of the service. A little-known fact: once the water hits you, you respond by making the sign of the cross. This is done to remind us that the stories we told on the Vigil night, which we call salvation history, extended up to us on our baptismal day, and that through all of us who are baptized, God continues to show love and mercy in this world. Martin Luther actually took the asperges one step further. He said that whenever we use water for anything, even just washing our face in the morning, we need to make the sign of the cross and remember that it’s through the simplest things – plain old water, small bits of bread, drops of wine – that God makes the most amazing things happen.

Continuing through Eastertide toward Ascension and Pentecost, we pray for God’s blessing, using these words:

Gracious and glorious God, you have chosen us as your own, and by the powerful name of Christ you protect us from evil. By your Spirit transform us and your beloved world, that we may find our joy in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. [ELW, Easter VII]

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Your fellow member and pilgrim,

Carl P. Rabbe, M.Div.