The following is an excerpt from Seasons of Worship: A Spiritual Calendar for the Church Today.
While many assume that Easter is just one day, the Christian year is designed to celebrate Easter for fifty days. During these days, the church celebrates Christ’s resurrection, remembers the post–resurrection appearances of Christ, celebrates Christ’s ascension into heaven, the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, and begins to explore the implications of the resurrection for the future of God’s kingdom.
The tone of Easter is drastically different than that of Lent. While Lent is characterized by austerity, Easter is a most joyous occasion. It is a season of the Alleluia, which serves as a hopeful sign of the time when we shall do nothing but praise God.
According to Robert Webber, Easter includes these two facets: God makes all things new, and we have been raised with Christ. He also claimed that,
“. . . in the postmodern world of violence and uncertainty, there is a great need to recover the Christus Victor theme that God in Christ has defeated all the powers of evil, that he has conclusively abolished sin, death, and all that is evil in the world, and that because of his death and resurrection, he will return for his final victory over all that is evil and set up his kingdom and reign over all the earth.”
The Easter season revolves around our resurrection spirituality. Through worship, we immerse ourselves in the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection, embracing the new life offered to us through his resurrection. This resurrection spirituality not only influences the manner in which we worship but also impacts our daily lives and how we choose to live.
©2024 Steven D. Brooks, Wipf and Stock Publishers
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If you would like to read more about Easter and the Christian year, and it’s spiritual impact upon the lives of worshipers, you can find more in Seasons of Worship: A Spiritual Calendar for the Church Today by Dr. Steven D. Brooks.