|
|
 |
Easter to Pentecost |
|
by the Rev.
Michael S. White, former rector
|
| As the weeks after Easter Day
pass, you may notice
that our altar hangings are still white, the Paschal Candle (the large
white candle that signifies the light of the resurrected Christ in our
midst) is still in front of the altar, and we still have our large
crosses adorned with white cloth. Easter is not over yet!
Easter is more than a one-day feast. Aside from the fact that
every day and especially every Sunday is a day to celebrate Easter,
Easter is a season in the Church's calendar that is often referred to
as "The Great Fifty Days." Because the joy and miracle of Christ's resurrection is so central to our faith, we are given a time to live into it. Over these fifty days of Easter, our readings from scripture, prayers, and hymns continue to invite us to reflect on this "Feast of Feasts." We are presented with many rich and varied images of the resurrected Christ - Christ's encounters with Thomas, Christ revealing himself to the disciples in the breaking of bread on the road to Emmaus, Christ as the Good Shepherd, and others. We are approaching the ending of Easter's Great Fifty Days. This concluding piece of our Easter season is called "Pentecost." It is on the fiftieth day that the same spirit that was in Christ filled the hearts of the disciples. At the Ascension of Jesus, the disciples were told to go and wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit that was in Jesus to be given to them. After this giving of the Holy Spirit they would be his witnesses to the world. On the Sunday of Pentecost and the Sundays that follow all the way to Advent, when we prepare for the Christ's Nativity and the cycle starts over, we rejoice that the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in those of us who have come to believe through the witness of the apostles. Easter and Pentecost are inseparable. Easter is the season of Christ's resurrection life, the first fruit from the dead. In Pentecost we celebrate the the promise that the Spirit of God now lives in us. We are Christ's body. We are the hands and feet of Christ on earth. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells within us, so that we might be his witnesses to the world. The Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in us. May the Spirit empower us to be Christ's witnesses. Michael † |
This page updated 16 April 2006