A Letter from Bishop Chris (April 2024A)
Happy Easter Season!
That’s right - just like Christmas (which has 12 days), Easter lasts more than one day. In the church calendar, Easter is an entire season called Eastertide (or Easter season). It lasts for 50 days and it’s a time of partying and feasting!
But that makes sense, doesn’t it? We just spent the last 40 days fasting and denying ourselves during the season of Lent. We did this to make room for God in our lives. Lent serves as a season of self-emptying as we journey with Jesus toward the cross. Now that Easter season is here, we rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus and His defeat of sin and death and we celebrate as we look forward to that which is to come. Ultimately, we will participate in the Great Banquet Feast of God, also called the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. When we see Him face to face, there will be no more fasting, or suffering, or hunger, or sorrow, or sin, or death - And that joy-filled life will go on throughout eternity. Hallelujah!
You may wonder why Eastertide lasts 50 days. It marks that Jesus spent 40 days on earth following His resurrection during which He walked and talked in places where His ministry had been; He was seen in His restored/resurrection body by hundreds of people; He spoke of God’s Kingdom; and He continued to prepare his followers. Then He ascended to Heaven, taken up before the eyes of His followers. Ten days after the Ascension came the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out; the Church was born; and the new season of God’s work and activity in the world through the Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus Christ began (40 days + 10 days = 50 days = Eastertide).
Because Jesus is alive, we are now alive in a new way. We’re not only physically alive; we’re also spiritually alive in Christ. Through faith, we are forgiven by God, restored to relationship with Him, and the Holy Spirit now dwells within us. We no longer have to fear death or the grave. There is truly much to celebrate!
Let me leave you with a story about the hope and good news of Easter.
The apostle Paul said that for those who have faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, death has lost its sting – it has been swallowed up in Christ’s victory. It’s no longer a vast emptiness. It is no longer something to dread.
I heard a story about a father and his young son who were driving down the road with their windows slightly opened. Suddenly a bee flew into the car and began buzzing around. The boy panicked because he was deathly allergic to bee stings. Seeing his child’s face, the father reached out and caught the bee in his hand. Soon, he opened his hand and the bee began to buzz around the car.
Again, the boy panicked. But the father reached over to the boy, and opened his hand showing him the stinger that was now embedded in his palm.
“It’s ok, son,” the father said, “I took the sting, the bee can’t hurt you anymore.”
The empty tomb and the resurrected body of Jesus are God’s way of saying to you, “Don’t be afraid, my child, I took the sting, death can’t hurt you anymore.” And for that we can all rejoice!
Eastertide blessings,
+Chris