Parish Magazine Item for May: The 50 Days of Easter

 

From The Rectory

 

Have you gobbled all your Easter eggs? Easter Day (20^th April) may already feel like a distant memory. But traditionally the church celebrates Easter for fifty days. Fifty Cadbury’s Crème Eggs might be over doing it a little, but fifty mini-eggs would be highly appropriate, I think.

 

Luke tells us in his second volume, The Acts of the Apostles:

 

After his [Jesus’] suffering [death and resurrection], he presented himself to them [the apostles he had chosen] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. (1v3)

 

The Apostle Paul itemises some of these resurrection appearances in his First Letter to the Christians at Corinth:

 

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas [= Simon Peter], and then to the Twelve [Disciples / Apostles]. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep [died]. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (15vv3-7)

 

Jesus’ ascension to heaven, his enthronement, follows forty days after Easter Sunday. We’ll be marking this at 7:30pm on Thursday 29^th May at Dallington.

 

The Feast of Pentecost (or Whitsun), when we recall the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the church, comes ten days later on Sunday 8^th June, and completes the Easter Season. After that we have a period of what the church calls “ordinary time” with no particular seasonal emphasis.

 

The events of Christmas and Easter really all belong together. Jesus was born to die. His resurrection is the essential conclusion of his crucifixion. But the ascension really ends the whole movement of Christ’s mission: he came from the glory of heaven, to the manger of Bethlehem, then to the cross for us. He returns to the glory he had before he took on flesh, but now with his resurrected human body. Mind-blowingly, Jesus is the God-man enthroned in heaven. And as the victor over sin, death and hell, the conquering Jesus pours out gifts on his church.

 

Before his death Jesus promised his disciples “another counsellor” to be alongside them and help them. Jesus had fulfilled this role for them during his earthly ministry, but he said he would not leave them comfortless but would send them the Holy Spirit to be this friend called alongside them. Although of course Jesus’ disciples are devastated by his death and naturally they miss him, Jesus says all this is an essential part of God’s plan and is, in a way, to their benefit. Amazingly, he calls the worldwide mission of the church in the power of the Holy Spirit even greater than his earthly ministry. Yes, Jesus raised the dead, but his work in the flesh was limited to three brief years mostly within 100 miles or so. The new life Jesus offers is available now all over the world from the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who will embrace the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection.    

 

Apart from giving us an excuse, if we want, for yet more chocolate, perhaps keeping these fifty days of Easter can help us to remember that we are not only celebrating a mighty miracle of long ago, but one which has life changing power and implications for us every day. It’s good that we celebrate every Sunday as a kind of Resurrection day because all year long we could say, “Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”

 

The Revd Marc Lloyd