Last month, I wrote about journeys, and particularly the journey through Lent to Easter. I said I was happy to travel a day at a time, “and then the celebration!” Well, it is quite likely that Easter will have passed by the time you read this. Or will it?
Just like Christmas is not one day of celebration on its own, but a whole season – “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – Easter is also not just a 24-hour-long festival. In fact, Easter lasts a full seven weeks – all the way to Whitsun (often called Pentecost) when the schools break for their half-term holiday. Easter Eggs may be sought and found and greedily scoffed on Easter Day. They may even last into the following week.* But the season of Easter will probably outlast them all (unless you make a habit of hoarding chocolate or were given such an enormous abundance of it that to eat it any quicker would be medically dangerous!).
The beauty of having seven weeks of Easter is that it provides an extended opportunity to reflect thoroughly on all that the resurrection of Jesus brings us. Easter Day itself is often filled with rejoicing and the jubilant cry of “Hallelujah!” (Praise the Lord!) – after the season of Lent where some church traditions refrain from using that word. About twenty years ago, in Lent, I attended a dinner party held by the Bishop of Durham with about thirty other clergy and their spouses. At the end of the meal, we read through the service of Night Prayer (often known as “Compline”) which was new to me, but I can read, so it wasn’t difficult to follow. Except that when it came to the word “Hallelujah,” I was the only one who said it. And, because “Hallelujah” should be said with feeling, I said it quite loudly! (Well, at least the first two syllables were loud – it tailed off a bit after that!) I didn’t notice anybody glaring at me, though I suspect a number of people were rolling their eyes. The vicar on my right nudged me with his elbow and explained quietly out of the corner of his mouth, “You don’t say ‘Hallelujah!’ in Lent!” Marginally better informed, I left out all the rest of the Hallelujahs till the end of the service – but I confess, I still don’t know the reason for this abstinence. Perhaps I will look it up for another article in the future!
Anyway … Easter Day is full of Hallelujahs and celebration and joy, and the 48 days that follow are a great opportunity to ponder and revel in the difference that Jesus’ resurrection has made to the world and to our lives. The Bible’s book of Acts says, “After his suffering, [Jesus] presented himself to [his disciples] 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.” If you’ve not considered the impact of the resurrection of Jesus before, maybe now is a good time to do so… Join us in church on Sundays as we learn from the historian Dr Luke who wrote the book of Acts. We’re thinking about Jesus – who he is and the lifechanging victory he has won for us…
Have a very happy Easter – all seven weeks of it!
* An educational note: The week after Easter is known as “Easter Week” and the week before Easter is known as “Holy Week.” That means, despite common usage which suggests otherwise, the day before Easter Day is NOT “Easter Saturday” but “Holy Saturday.” “Easter Saturday” is the following week – 6th April this year!