March 30, 2016

The Wednesday Word

“How was your Easter?”

“Did you have a good Easter?”

These are questions I've been asked several times in the past few days.  It's certainly a valid question since people know that, being “in the business,” I tend to be more involved than other people.  I think they want to know if I thought Easter services went well (they all did).  Or maybe it's their way of making sure I didn't overdo it and was able to enjoy the celebration (I didn't and I did).  Or maybe it's simply a way to make polite conversation.

And while the intent of the question can be any of the above suggestions, they all miss the mark.  They miss the mark because they are implicitly referring to Easter Day.  And they miss the mark because there's an assumption that, like Christmas, Easter is a one-day celebration.

While it is true that we make a big deal out of Easter Day (and rightfully so) with gatherings of family and/or friends, Easter egg hunts, baskets, fancy dresses, new suits, and baptisms, it's important to remember that Easter is a season lasting 49 days, followed by the day of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit on the fiftieth day.

In recent years there has been a movement to honor the Easter season with a spiritual discipline in the same way as we honor the Lenten season, but with the focus on resurrection and new life rather than self-denial and repentance.  This relatively new form of joyful spiritual discipline has come to be known as the via lucis, or Way of Light.

Because this is a relatively new discipline in the church, it's not surprising that it's still being tinkered with.  There are several versions available, and you could easily find them with a little poking around the internet.  But to save you the trouble, I'm providing a link to one I found that I think matches up with the Good Friday Stations of the Cross quite well:

http://www.stgregoryspreston.org.uk/_webedit/uploaded-files/All%20Files/Stations%20of%20the%20Resurrection.pdf

How might we be changed if during this Easter season we celebrated the joy of the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit all fifty days?  Would it make a difference if you spent these fifty days of Easter looking for instances of new life and the presence of the resurrected Christ in the world around you?

So the next time someone asks you, “How was your Easter?” be sure to tell them it's just starting.

Amen.