Happy Easter

I hope you had a blessed day in celebration of our savior’s resurrection. I want us to remember something important the next few weeks about Easter. All of these ideas to reflect and ponder are a deep part of the faith we own and live. As we grow deeper in our understanding of the faith and the following of Jesus, the Kingdom of God has a greater potential of reality in the lives of those around us.

A central reality of Easter is that it is not just a day. We celebrate Easter on a specific day with bunnies, eggs and a special meal. But according to the church calendar, it is a season. The Easter season starts on Easter Sunday and lasts through the Sunday prior to Pentecost. It is during this time we remember that Jesus did not just appear on the first day of the week to the disciples and disappear into heaven. We are taught through Scripture that Jesus appeared to many people in the days leading up to Pentecost. Our liturgical brothers and sisters celebrate the day we believe he ascended into heaven as Ascension of the Lord (this year on May 5). We read about this day in Matthew and Luke. The disciples are given instructions to go and make disciples and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The other reality of Easter is that it is not just a season or a day. Every Sunday is a celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. The tradition started by the early followers of Jesus was that they gathered daily for the worship of God, morning and evening. A special worship service was celebrated on the first day of the week. The Sabbath was still kept on Saturday as the “seventh day” for rest. Every Sunday is a celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. We should enter with joy on Sundays. It is because of this reality that during Lent, all fasts are forgotten on Sunday as a day of celebration.

Easter is all through the year. We are to live a life that demonstrates and tells others that we have a savior who died for our forgiveness. But more importantly, Jesus is alive now and in the future. The death means nothing without the resurrection. There is no defeat of death without a resurrection. It is in the Good News of this life changing event we live, we act and we tell others. Celebrate Easter every day.