THE GREAT EASTER SUNDAY
What impact does Easter have on your life ? Is it a once a year festive celebration with bright spring clothing and Easter Lilies or a life changing reality which motivates you all year long ? Easter is the oldest of the church’s feasts and the source of many others. The ancient name for Easter is ” Pascha ” from the Hebrew name for Passover. The first disciples experienced pure joy with Jesus’ rising from the dead. It’s the same joy we sometimes see on the faces and like children at play, the disciples wanted the joy to last. Easter spread through the whole week during the early church. The week became a legal holiday as Christians gained power in many parts of the Roman Empire. Easter in the third century church was filled with celebration and rejoicing. The praise and wonder overflowed into a 50 day season from Easter eve to Pentecost. Our ancestors found great symbolic meaning. The50 Days of Easter became known as the Great Sunday of the Year.
On Easter Day, we celebrate the astounding, miraculous resurrection of Jesus. Take a thoughtful and fresh look at the colors of the church. The value of the true color scheme rests in their purpose, serving God’s worshiping community by assisting in communicating the holy faith from generation to generation. Children learn of transformation watching chicks pop up from their shells or seeing butterfly emerge from its cocoon. The beauty and symbolism of color serve us well. White is the color that supports the theme for the Great 50 Days of Easter. Easter Lilies are displayed in the church. It is the appointed color for several festive Sundays and special occasions of the church year. White is the color of purity and completeness. Jesus’ triumph from the grave is the cause of our rejoicing. His purity becomes our purity. White reinforces that message of joy.
We don’t always believe that Jesus is alive today in our lives and for our problems. 50 days of heavenly joy may seem hard for us to sustain these days. Our sins exposed and confessed, Jesus kindles that flame in our heart. Believe in the Risen Christ; Jesus is our savior. Jesus gave a promise which is especially meaningful today when we celebrate Jesus’ return to life. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he may die, shall live. Everyone who lives in me, shall never die” (John 11:25-26)
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