What a gift to celebrate the joy of Jesus’ resurrection together on Easter last Sunday. This is a good story about a good God with a good ending!
In most Protestant expressions of Christianity, Easter and Christmas are the only two “set” times observed within the historical Christian calendar. However, there are several distinct seasons in the historical Christian calendar intended to guide us in a continual exploration of who God is, who we are, and what this good story means for our everyday lives.
One of these is Eastertide, the fifty-day season that begins at Easter and includes the Ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Also known as Paschaltide, this is a time of great joy and feasting as we celebrate the new life God invites us into through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This season of wonder bids us to hold the now-and-not-yet tension as we step into a deeper experience of Jesus’ promise that “your sorrow will be turned to joy” (John 16:20).
We are not lost. We are not abandoned. Our good Shepherd has rescued us, redeemed us, and restored us to the relationship with God we were created for. And we can trust Him to lead and provide for us as we practice resurrection.
Benedictine nun Sister Joan Chittister writes of this season:
“Nothing else compares to Paschaltide for bringing the whole Christian calendar to one hot point of experience.
Yes, the Advent waiting had been a glimpse of what it means to believe in the return. Yes, Christmas locked the human and the divine into the human psyche and soul as one. Yes, Lent brought us to our knees in the face of the awesome idea that the divine had reached down to us so that we might reach back.
But only here in this time, between the bursting open of the tomb and, fifty days later, the overflowing of the Holy Spirit, does full awareness of what it is to live in Christ, with Christ, and through Christ finally dawn…
In this period, we are all risen to new life. We all become a new people together.”
(excerpt from The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life)
Each Sunday of this season, we’ll explore key moments of encounter with Jesus as told throughout the New Testament. We’ll examine what these encounters express to us about who God is, who we are, and how God invites us to practice resurrection both personally and together as a community. We hope you’ll join us and look forward to seeing you this Sunday as Rabbi Noah kicks off this series with his unique, rabbinical style of teaching.
Grateful to be with you on the journey,
The Teaching Team