Welcome to Eastertide

Scripture — Luke 24:1-6 (NRSV)

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, [some women who followed Jesus] came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

Devotion

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

Yes, I know that yesterday was Easter Sunday. But for many Christians throughout history and throughout the world today, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus isn’t over. In fact, it has just begun. We’re now in the 50-day Christian season of Eastertide.

If you’ve been part of a liturgically oriented church, you’re probably quite familiar with the word “Eastertide.” If not, that word may seem rather strange to you. You’re not alone. According to Google’s Ngram Viewer, which charts the frequency of word usage over many years, “Eastertide” is not commonly used, although it was popular in 1897 and 1980 for some reason. I have no idea why.

I became familiar with the word “Eastertide” and the season to which it points during my first year as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. That church had a tradition of singing Easter hymns, not only on Easter Sunday, but also during worship services in the following weeks. I was ready to experiment with all of this, though I must confess it felt rather strange to sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” a couple of weeks after Easter Sunday. (“Christ the Lord is Risen Two Weeks Ago” wouldn’t work either.) Nevertheless, I did my best to be a good sport. Slowly, over the years, I’ve grown to appreciate celebrating Easter for more than just a single Sunday. (You can learn more about Eastertide here.)

In the next few weeks, during what I now consider to be the season of Easter, I want to reflect with you, not so much on the events of Easter, but on their meaning. I will do this, beginning today, by writing a series of devotions based on Luke 24.

The last verses of Luke 23 record the actions of several faithful women who had followed Jesus. After seeing where and how he had been entombed, they gathered spices and ointments to honor his dead body. They did this on the Friday of Jesus’s death, but did not go to his tomb until Sunday because they rested on the Sabbath “according to the commandment” (23:56).

On Sunday morning, the women brought their spices to the tomb, yet they did not find Jesus’s body. This was perplexing to them. Then, two angels appeared to the women, saying, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen” (24:5).

“He is not here, but has risen.” Here is the core of Easter truth, the reason for Easter celebration. Jesus truly died and was truly buried. But he was not in his grave because “he has risen.” He has truly risen. The Greek verb translated as “has risen” is a passive verb. A more literal translation would be “He is not here, but has been raised.” Jesus did not raise himself from the dead. Rather, he was raised by God the Father. In this miracle, God the Father vindicated God the Son. God broke the bondage of sin and death. God began a whole new chapter of history, one based on the truth of the resurrection of Jesus.

For centuries, Christians have celebrated the resurrection through a traditional dialogue, the so-called Paschal Greeting. One person says, “Christ is risen!” The other responds, “He is risen, indeed!” There, in a nutshell, is the good news of Easter. There is the news that rewrites history. There is news that changes everything.

Though the resurrection of Jesus happened almost two millennia ago, it still has the power to change everything. It can turn unbelief into faith, pessimism into hope, defeat into victory. The resurrection reassures us that, no matter how hard things are in this life, there is a life to come. The resurrection shows us that God wins, and so will we.

So much more could be said about the resurrection, its meaning, and implications. I’ll reflect on some of this “more” in several devotions based on Luke 24. But today, I’d like to conclude by focusing our attention on the simple truth, the basic good news of Easter.
Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb.