Life after resurrection
For the first time in decades I did not preach on Easter Sunday, so I didn't have the homiletical challenge of telling a familiar story in a way that conveys its startling power. Instead I'm thinking more about what it means to live in a world where a resurrection has happened.
Today we have Easter and Christmas, but I miss the old way of referring to Eastertide and Christmastide. The intent was to designate an extended season rather than a single day, and I need the reminder that while each of the two events—the birth of the baby and the appearance of the risen Christ—is loaded with power and potential for glorious celebration, both are far more.
Eastertide and Christmastide are for the exploration and consideration of worldview-changing realities. Preachers know that while Easter Sunday is great fun, with gorgeous flowers, glorious music and full sanctuaries, the most important Sundays in the church year are the Sundays afterward, when we are left, as were Jesus' disciples, with the meanings and implications of what happened and the sense that nothing can ever be the same.
