The Christian Year: Eastertide

He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Welcome to Easter! Welcome to the season of Easter! Welcome to 50 days of celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in power, authority, and majesty! Welcome to the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in victory over sin, Satan, and death itself!

As we did with the Season of Lent, let’s take a post on this first Monday of Eastertide, and consider the season of Easter. What does it mean? WHY a season? Why 50 days? Isn’t it good enough to celebrate Easter once a year and then move on? Isn’t Easter just about egg hunts, candy, bunnies, and jelly beans?

Let’s take a look…

What is Easter?

First, let’s just simply define Easter. Culturally, especially in the US, Easter can almost be simplified down to a “little Christmas.” We tell our children to be good so that the Easter Bunny will come a visit them and leave them treats and presents. We get dressed up for cute pictures and possibly (though less likely today than even 20 years ago) we might go to church with the family.

But this is a Christian blog, so you know from the outset that my thesis is that Easter is much more than bunnies, candy, and presents. In fact, let me say early on that Easter is not a “little Christmas.”

Throughout Christian history, Easter was celebrated far earlier among the early church than was Christmas. This is because (and here is our ultimate definition) Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Yes, non-Christian reader, you read that right – Jesus Christ IS indeed Risen. This is why we celebrate. This is, frankly, why Christianity exists in the first place! Without the resurrection, the Apostle Paul tells us, that we are above all the most pitiable people in human history. Why? Because if we believe in a dead guy for our salvation, then what’s the point? Everything we trust and have faith in is in vain. But, if we believe in a dead guy that’s no longer dead, but is in fact the Risen God-Man himself… well, then that’s a different story altogether.

But, we’re not here to fully unpack the theology of the Resurrection (at least not totally). We’re here this week to understand why Christians take 50 days to celebrate Easter. What is this whole Easter season? Like Lent, let’s look at that and then consider a few simple ways to practice and embody this season.

Eastertide

Let’s deal first with the time period. Why 50 days? As Rev. H. Boone Porter puts it in his book Keeping the Church Year – “Nothing less does justice to what Easter signifies,” because “The Fifty Great Days are traditionally the most joyous part of the Christian Year.”

I love this statement. I think it’s beautiful and deserves no further explanation. But, at the same time, this doesn’t make sense to those who are either non-Christian or for Christians who are completely unfamiliar with the Christian Year. The reason we celebrate Easter for 50 days is that, Easter begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until Pentecost (which is literally 50 days after Easter Sunday). We’ll deal more with the meaning of Pentecost in 49 more days, but for now, this gives us the basic understanding and definition of the “why” behind the 50 days of Eastertide.

But, what about a season? Why is Easter a season? We are all familiar with Christmas being a season, but why Easter?

The short answer is this: Easter is the heart of the Christian faith. As I mentioned above, if Christ has not been raised, Christians are the most pitiable and, frankly, the most laughable people in the history of the world. But because Christ has been raised, this is a different story. In Easter, we have the full triumph of God over our sin, over death, over Hell, and over Satan. Yes, we understand that these are all still influences in the lives of people all over the world… but Christ has won. Victory has been achieved.

On the Cross, Jesus paid the ransom for sin. In the Resurrection, he fully put death to death.

We have the season of Easter because there is no other holiday on the Christian calendar that deserves our attention as much as the Easter season. Eastertide is the oldest celebration of Christianity. The next is probably Pentecost if because of the public display of the coming of the Holy Spirit. All other seasons of the Christian year grew up around the Easter season.

While I love Lent (as weird as that sounds because it is such a hard and trying season) – Lent itself originated for the purpose of preparing for Easter. Porter again notes something quite fascinating, “it is a strange irony that many church people try faithfully during Lent to observe the forty days of preparation, yet virtually abandon Eastertide after going to church on Easter Day.” This is a valid critique of Christians, specifically in the West. We love feeling oppressed and persecuted. It’s in the victory that we feel uncomfortable. We love preaching that we’re the social outcasts (which we are), but we fail miserably at actually living the victory of the Resurrection (which, by the way, is what makes us so weird to begin with!). It’s in the victory of the Resurrection that makes Christianity such a different kind of faith, a different kind of hope, and a different kind of religion. If we truly lived the victory of the Resurrection, everything that concerns us in life would not only be secondary, but wouldn’t register with the importance that we unnecessarily place upon it.

Inhabiting Easter

Now comes the challenge. Eastertide is a different kind of season for Christians. Sadly, there are no catchy Easter songs like the “12 Days of Christmas” to help us keep the 50 Days. There are no similar expectations placed upon Easter that are placed upon Lent – Lent is a season of Fasting, but Easter is a season of Feasting. Furthermore, some of you may not be part of a church tradition that follows the Church Year, and so Easter Sunday is it in your church home. This is unfortunate – the implications of the Resurrection call for more than one Sunday worship service. The Resurrection calls for more than simply celebrating Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Put simply, Easter cannot be done in a day.

So… what is one to do? Especially if you are in a church tradition that doesn’t follow the Christian Year?

First, go and celebrate Easter Sunday with your church! This should be a no brainer, but it must be said. To build on this, though, don’t let your only time in church be on Easter Sunday. In the Christian life, every Sunday is a “little Easter” – the Resurrection on the first day of the week is why we gather on Sunday. So, go to church.

Second, go and celebrate with other traditions for the non-Sunday worship times. Obviously by the time this post goes live, we are now at the 1st Monday of Eastertide, so opportunities to celebrate Maundy Thursday and Good Friday have past. That being said, the more traditionally liturgical expressions of the faith usually have different types of celebrations throughout the season of Eastertide. Find a biblically faithful liturgical church and check out their social media or website and see what celebrations they have going on. They’ll be happy you came!

Third, find personal ways to heighten your expectation before worship on Sundays. This could be something as simple as praying before you leave to go to church, having a quiet morning before worship (so no tv, games, music, etc…), or even a time of quite reflection and preparation. I come from the Southern Baptist tradition, and quiet reflection before a worship service is not something typically found (or even desired) before worship. Southern Baptists like to treat the church like a family (which it is), which means hugging necks, shaking hands, belly laughing over stories, and catching up before worship. However, take a Sunday during Eastertide and find your seat, close your eyes, pray, and remain silent before worship. Do it just one Sunday morning and let me know if you don’t find yourself in a better spirit of worship that day.

Finally, try to find ways to reflect on the Resurrection throughout the whole season. Read 1 Corinthians 15, read the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection, read Romans. Find a good book on Christian theology that is easy for you to understand (but also challenges you) and learn more about what it is that Jesus did for you and me while hanging on the Cross but also what the full weight of the Resurrection means.

Easter is always in the Springtime. Might I suggest planting a few flowers or herbs, sitting on your porch or deck or patio, and reflecting on the Resurrection surrounded by God’s creation? Go for a hike. Go to a local arboretum or park. Enjoy nature during Eastertide – especially if you are in the American South where Spring only lasts a few weeks before it is too hot to enjoy the outdoors.

---

How does your church celebrate Easter? How will you try to celebrate Easter beyond Easter Sunday?