Easter Evensong

The Keiskamma Altarpiece is on display through May.

Easter is one of Christianity’s three great feasts, the other two being Christmas and Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit entered the world and begat the Church). Casting off their Lenten abstemiousness, Christians fill their places of worship with celebration and song. Afterwards there are Easter egg hunts, family gatherings, and a groaning board of comestibles that would do Thanksgiving proud.

This year I have more than the usual preoccupations, and the contemplative mood of Lent has not quite been banished. And so it was that we filed silently into Grace Cathedral last Sunday afternoon. The small gathering included tourists, Christians who missed morning Mass, and still others who needed evening prayer to complete their day.

The choir had gone home to their families, and congregants were invited to sit in the choir stalls surrounding the altar. The dignity of the surroundings enjoined us from slouching. I gazed at the polished wood, the granite carvings, and the stained glass while a young priest repeatedly called for peace and justice during the homily.

Listening in my high-backed chair, I was annoyed because I don’t believe that fighting AIDS in Africa or fixing the environment or even withdrawing from the Middle East, worthy causes though they may be, was the takeaway message from the Resurrection, but then again I wasn’t taught in seminary. If the mission of the church is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, the Episcopal Church is doing a good job, at least with the latter. That’s one reason why the national membership has been halved to about two million, and that’s why this magnificent cathedral is rarely filled.

After the service we chatted briefly with newly installed Bishop Marc and his wife Sheila, who had quietly attended the service with other worshippers. He doesn’t seem at all impressed with the trappings of his office. There’s hope yet. © 2007 Stephen Yuen