Some churches pay more attention to the liturgical calendar than others. The Church of God draws a great heritage from a free church tradition which does not adhere slavishly to such things; however, because of our commitment to fellowship with all those everywhere who name Christ as Lord, more and more pastors and churches are keeping aware of such things; and of course, since the whole world changes its behavior during Advent, there is plenty of good reason to use that opportunity to remind people of the “reason for the season;” and likewise, during the run-up to Easter known as Lent (marked increasingly by observances of “Fat Tuesday” [Mardi Gras], the last day of feasting before the forty days of fasting traditionally begin the following day, Ash Wednesday, as observed by the more liturgical churches; perhaps you remember how this year TV reporters had trouble figuring out what the smudge on the forehead of Joe Biden, a Roman Catholic, was). But less attention is paid to Easter, a season that begins on the day we celebrate the Resurrection, and lasts 50 days until the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost marks the occasion of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as recounted in the second chapter of the book of Acts.
Easter, then, is not just one day, and it’s not all about eggs and rabbits and other signs of growth and fertility, borrowed from a more ancient series of observances that developed in Northern Europe. For those of us who are Christians, the events commemorated by these springtime observances serve as parables written in nature itself that illustrate a spiritual truth at the heart of our faith: that God’s greatest miracle is the bringing forth of life out of death. Christ arose! says the hymn, and at least in the northern hemisphere, we find all nature joining in the chorus with an Amen that resounds with flowers and fruit, birds and bees, lengthening days and sunshine warming hearts and homes.
So we celebrate the Resurrection, not just one day a year, but throughout the season that leads to the celebration of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit: itself an unfolding of that great Christmas truth, that the one called Emmanuel, which means God with us, is really with us, and the prophecy of Christ to the Apostles, that this Spirit of Truth “shall be in you” is fulfilled. We say, Christ is alive! and in faith we take that to mean that there is hope for our own life, our own renewal, not just seasonally either, but transformationally. The One rejected by the political and religious leaders of the world, by the best religious system the world had yet produced, that of the Jews, and by the best legal system the world had yet seen, that of the Romans, is declared to be alive, offering a Way of living that surpasses those systems as the broad light of midday surpasses the light of a candle. We celebrate his unstoppable life, and declare that his Way is better than the best, providing through repentance and forgiveness an avenue of change that gets to the heart of all the problems that exist in the world: human nature.
Yes, Christ came, died, and rose again for no less of a reason than to change human nature. Ah, but someone says, human nature is too corrupt, there is no hope of changing it; yet the gospel says, that it is this, and only this, that is the hope of the world. It is the love of God that raised Jesus from the dead; and not just God’s love for his Son, but God’s love for all that has been made; for you, for me, for all that is yet to be redeemed, and the word has gone out into the world: God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. We beg you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God! (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). God, through His Son, bet His own life that human beings, such as you and I are, can change, in response to the love that raises the dead. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love…. anyone that does not love is still dead (I John 3:14).