Dear Sisters and Brothers,
In my welcome during this past Sunday’s worship service, I said “This is the 1st Sunday after Easter…”, and as those words came out of my mouth, they felt wrong. I stumbled a moment before I remembered why they felt wrong. I corrected myself, “Actually, today is the 2nd Sunday of Easter – we are still in the season of Easter.”
I had made the mistake of thinking of Easter in the way that most of the secular world does, as a one-day event. For those of us in church, if we pay attention to the liturgical cycle, Easter is not something to quickly pack away with the baskets and bunny figurines on Monday morning. For 7 weeks, or 50 days, between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday, we continue to celebrate Eastertide or Eastertime.
The vestments in the sanctuary will remain white during this period, and the banners will continue to proclaim “He is Risen” on one side of the chancel, and an answering “He is Risen Indeed” on the other side.
Eastertide is more than a prolonged celebration of Christ’s resurrection; it’s also a period of preparation for the mysterious work of the empowering Spirit that was sent to the church on Pentecost. It is a time to reflect on our individual and communal gifts and callings to serve, and to ask that the Holy Spirit might once again light upon us to help us in the work of the church. For a week of Sundays, we continue to celebrate with joy God’s great victory over death through Christ. We express this joy through acts of service and kindness, such as visiting lonely neighbors or supporting those in need.
We celebrate the presence and power of the risen Christ in his church, and just as the banners at the front of the sanctuary continue to proclaim, each of the 50 days in this season are fit for this exchange:
Greeting: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Response: The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!
The Word Among Us Magazine suggests these other ways to celebrate the season of Easter beyond Sunday mornings in church:
Use a special candle at meals to recall the light of Christ.
Keep fresh flowers around.
Plan a family outing to a river, lake, stream, or ocean.
Listen to Handel’s Messiah and other Easter music.
Make a special trip to an interesting shrine or church.
Learn how other cultures celebrate Easter. Try out some of their customs and foods.
Plant some seeds.
Fly a kite to celebrate the wind of the Holy Spirit.
I hope we are all able to extend our celebration of Easter in meaningful ways, and that they fill our hearts with joy and gratitude for the new life and rebirth at the heart of the season.
Peace,
Pastor Layne