Fifty Day Season of Encouragements

A Fifty Day Season of Encouragements

A 14^th century Greek icon of Christ’s Resurrection

            Long work hours coincided with my observation of this year’s Lenten season. My additional lifetime poor housekeeping habit joined in to create numerous moments of frustration, looking for something that should have been resting in its place, but was instead where I last placed it. By the end of Lent I discovered that sometimes housekeeping can be one of our more important spiritual obligations, especially if poor housekeeping means looking for things creates frustration and keeps you from other tasks in life. Poor habits that have formed over a lifetime can be difficult to overcome. Struggling with them can necessitate a source of abundant encouragement. This year I have especially discovered that Eastertide, which follows Lent, is an excellent source of encouragements.

            “Eastertide” is a fifty day period beginning on Easter Sunday, concluding on Pentecost Sunday, and including Christ’s ascension on the fortieth day following Easter. Whether you follow the Christian calendar or not, following the Biblical chronology between Christ’s resurrection and the Holy Spirit’s descending upon the Church at Pentecost offers us many encouragements.

 

            1. EASTER SUNDAY

            We can imagine the struggle and sufferings that were felt by Jesus’ followers when he was crucified and laid in the tomb. Some had hoped he was the Messiah. In the early morning on the Sunday following his execution, a group of women who had followed him, took spices with them in hopes of honoring his body in the tomb. They were surprised when the stone was moved away and the tomb was empty. Perhaps the gardener could say what happened. Then they discovered he was not a gardener, but the Rabbi and spiritual master they had followed. He was alive. He had been very dead on Friday. But now he was alive. It was a confusing utterly joyous moment. In time they might think of their thoughts of him as a gardener being a beautiful metaphor for how in him a dead human body can be planted in the ground and perfect body that will live eternally will be brought forth in the great day of the Lord's harvest. Perhaps no music played on that day but ever since choirs have sung marking the occasion “He is risen!” “He is risen indeed. Alleluia.” This is our first great encouragement of Eastertide.

            2. FORTY DAYS OF LINGERING

            Following his resurrection, Jesus spent forty days on earth, sometimes described as his days of lingering. A central feature of these days is how Jesus visited his disciples who had stumbled, fled, and failed Jesus in his time of arrest, trial, and execution by crucifixion. He visited them all; Simon Peter, the other disciples, and finally Thomas alongside with all the disciples. Like Joseph who had been sold into slavery by his brothers, Jesus told his disciples how though they had failed him, that this was arranged by God so that through him they could be delivered from the powers of sin and death. Isn’t it encouraging as we struggle with our flaws and failures to know how for forty days Jesus lingered and one of his highest priorities was encouraging his disciples who had stumbled when he was in his most precarious hour. Consider how this should encourage us to follow him through all the situations we find ourselves facing in life, including our own weaknesses that betray us and those around us.

            3. HE ASCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS

            On the fortieth day following Easter, Jesus ascended into heaven. (Acts 1:1-11). He was enthroned above every power and principality. He had overcome sin and death and now serves through all the ages as our great high priest interceding on our behalf.

            There is a great and beautiful mystery regarding Jesus’ ascension and his being seated on the throne of grace, bearing the name “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” In the incarnation Jesus was born fully God and fully man. He had descended to earth to join in his body the fullness of Deity and the fullness of humanity. In the ascension he returns to heaven continuing to live his life in fullness of humanity as well as fullness of Deity. He has overcome sin and death. His intercession of spoken prayers would be as powerful if he remained silent and simply sat in fullness of his humanity with all present knowing that for those following him, the day would come and they would see him and be like him. His perfected humanity seated in the heavens above is our inheritance in Christ that shall be ours in the great day for which we await. This is the encouragement of the day of Ascension so spoken by St. John who declares “When we see him, we shall be like him.” He has ascended forever uniting God and redeemed humanity in the unity of his being on our behalf.

            4. THE GIVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON PENTECOST (THE FIFTIETH DAY)

            The journey of Eastertide reaches a foundational conclusion with Pentecost Sunday. The Spirit of God descends upon the Church. The sign of tongues falls upon the disciples as they preach the Gospel to men and women gathered from many nations for the Pentecost. On one level it reverses the curse at Babel when the nations were divided by different languages and could no longer understand one another. It is also an undeniable encouragement to the disciples of how God in his grace would be with them as they proclaimed the Gospel to all nations, tribes, and tongues of our diverse humanity. The Gospel has a vision for all people, ethnicities, and colors. In God's kingdom we are brethren and neighbors. Instead of dividing people with varied tongues, the Spirit of God will enable the joyous uniting of each into His Church. There is also a beautiful symmetry regarding the beginning of Christ’s incarnation and the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. In the incarnation the Holy Spirit visited Mary and overshadowed her and enabled her to conceive and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. Christ filled the virgin's womb as each portion of his human body took shape in Mary's womb. As the Holy Spirit empowered Christ to be formed in Mary's womb, he is now commissioned to bring forth the character and image of Christ in our humanity as we follow Christ. Christ's humanity is the image we are to bear, and Christ's image is the what the Holy Spirit in the incarnation and in our transformations seeks to bring forth out of our humanities. The mercies of God are new every morning and the depths of the mystery of our transformations from corruptible man to eternal bearers of the image of God in Jesus Christ are as full of mystery and grandeur as the ineffable glory of the depths of the Living God.