Easter is the great day of triumph – it is the ultimate yearly celebration of the Church. It affirms the saving event of Christ in the world, breaking the chains of sin and death and inviting us into the new creation, resurrection life of the age to come. Easter goes on for fifty days (approximately 6 total Sundays) and includes Ascension Day and the culminating joy of Pentecost. Easter is the central celebration of the Christian year, and is the greatest storytelling Sunday of them all.
Pentecost is the culminating Sunday of Easter, rooted in the ancient Jewish celebration of the five (penta) books of the Law, is the birthday of the Church. A welcoming of the Holy Spirit is remembered, and the spread of the good news through a divinely empowered Church becomes the center of attention. This season leads us with the theme of the Spirit’s great inspiration through the remainder of the year, until Advent begins the cycle over again. (From the digital book Essentials In Worship History: Bearers Of Memory).
In this Season, we now enter into a time of immersing ourselves in the Gospels, the acts of Jesus, the acts of the early Church, the acts of the Church throughout history, and welcoming the Holy Spirit’s leadership in our lives, we run with God in the fields of Hope.
In this Season, now upon us, live, love, pray, laugh, encourage, imagine, heal; run like water to the lowest places. In so doing the Spirit of Jesus will empower you to do all that you need to do to bring your gift to calling this world back to its Maker.
With Joy, let’s embrace the Pentecost season!