Easter Week

Christ is Risen!



(just waiting for your response...)

Yes it is Easter week. The fasting is over and the celebration has begun. We can begin eating chocolate (or whatever you might have given up for Lent) and enjoying the freedom given to us by the death and resurrection of Christ. Our Polish brothers and sisters have given us a holiday to help this event, Dyngus Day, or Easter Monday. It's the day we either recover from the sugar coma from eating the ears off of Chocolate Easter Bunnies or to imbibe a bit on the beverages we gave up for Lent. Either way, it is a day to remember our new place in the kingdom of God.

How are you celebrating this week?

I was planning on playing golf, but the weather didn't cooperate. In fact, I'm now sitting in my office with the rain/sleet/snow hitting my window and making me very cold! I'm eating sweets like they are going out of style (thank God for the Easter Bunny who brought me plenty of my favorites, too!) and I'm still basking in the Easter worship experiences from last Sunday!

But my greatest celebration is still to come...as we continue our Easter celebration each Sunday in the weeks to come!

You see, Easter doesn't happen just once per year, rather it happens every Sunday. That's why we worship on the first day of the week instead of at the beginning of the sabbath (Friday Evening) like our Jewish and Muslim neighbors. We celebrate on resurrection morning...every week! It's to remind us that the risen Christ is to be real in our lives as well, EVERY WEEK, and EVERY DAY!

As Christians we are supposed to live the resurrection life, dead to sin, alive to the very movement of God (the Holy Spirit) within us. Which means it's important to remember that we are Christians every day, not just on Sundays, that worship is for every day, that centering on God is for every day, that speaking to God is for everyday, that being mindful of God is to become who we are at our very core.

I think Easter week is one of the hardest for Christians and for churches. The planning process that leads to Easter Sunday is easily abandoned for the next week and the experiences that follow somehow pale in comparison. It's back to the old clothes in the closet, the regular routine of the weekend, worship that's not quite as full (in seats or in content). We expect less because we often get less. It's a vicious cycle.

So we have to temper our expectations, or maybe even ramp them up. And at the same time, start treating each Sunday like Easter in how we anticipate and how we prepare, both as worshipers and leaders.

Today is the middle of the week, hump day as some call it, the day many will begin cruising through the rest of the week. I'm suggesting instead of coasting, we start peddling, faster and faster because we cannot wait until we gather for another Easter Celebration this weekend! (and the next and the next!) That's the right attitude of Easter.

We cannot afford the post-easter doldrums, it's just the beginning of the celebration, because Christ is Risen...indeed...


...still!


Peace><>
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