Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter. We often think
of Easter as that one Sunday in the year that follows
Good Friday where we have flowers in the sanctuary
and take pictures of ourselves in our nice clothes, and
we (rightly) say to one another, “Christ is risen,” and
hear (again rightly) the refrain, “He is risen indeed!”
However, Easter is not over. During the rest of the
Easter Season, we continue the story of God’s
magnificent salvation of His people. Right now in the
story, Christ has not yet ascended to the Father and
we, knowing the rest of the story, look forward to His
ascension and commissioning of His people with
great anticipation. In the meantime, we remember
the glorious days that changed everything as we recall
with awe that Christ rose from the dead. This was, no
doubt, a source of continued joy for Christ’s apostles,
who had only just a few days ago considered Him
dead and gone. And now, here was Jesus, the Lord,
with them for forty days.
Of course, like every Sunday, we celebrate Christ’s presence with us, even today, in the body and blood, the divine food Christ shares with us. And Easter made this possible. Christ is, indeed, risen! Therefore, let us keep the feast. Alleluia!