I do not preach or read scripture from a lectionary and we don’t say much about the Christian calendar at Unity Baptist. Christmas and Easter are the “tent poles” if you will that most, I would say the vast majority, of Christian churches operate around. At our church we keep the weeks of Advent, a season of preparation leading up to Christmas Day. And while we do not have an Ash Wednesday service or observe Lent, I would like to talk about the season we are in now: Eastertide.

Easter can feel like a let-down. I don’t mean the celebration or the day of Easter itself. But after planning and preparing for Easter, celebrating Palm Sunday, getting up early for Sunrise service (and probably a breakfast), after all the children’s activities and seeing perhaps the largest Sunday morning crowd of the year… then it’s all over rather quickly. Next week you may wonder where everybody went. There was a lot of excitement leading up to Resurrection Sunday, and then it seems to fall off sharply.

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to his followers and sometimes to crowds for a period of 40 days. Then he ascended back into heaven, telling his faithful followers to wait in Jerusalem. 10 days later, or 50 days after the resurrection/Passover, the Holy Spirit fell on the Day of Pentecost. Easter should be a beginning, not an ending. “Eastertide” is a time or season that begins with the resurrection of Jesus and last 50 days until Pentecost. During this time Jesus appeared to his followers including Judas; he revealed himself to two followers on the road to Emaus; he repeated the miracle of the miraculous catch of fish and served his disciples breakfast on the beach; and he appeared to a crowd of over 150 people. The final event after 40 days is his ascension, when two angels ask what everyone is looking at before reminded them that he will come again the same way. Pentecost, like Passover, was a feast that many Jews returned to Jerusalem to observe. Over time two separate observances, the feast of first fruits and the remembrance of the Law being given at Sinai, had become amalgamated into one thing. And it was on this day the Holy Spirit, the Comforter Jesus had promised, came down. The Apostles spoke in tongues, Peter preached the first “Christian sermon” recorded in Acts 2, 3,000 people were saved and the church began to grow daily.

The resurrection is the most significant event we celebrate in Christianity. But it’s not the end of anything, it is really the beginning of our new life in Christ. Build on that as we move towards Pentecost; it is the indwelling Holy Spirit that puts words in our mouths – and sometimes shuts our mouths. We have the presence of God with us always, and we are his dwelling place, we are the tabernacle, in this world. Don’t feel let down after Easter, like nothing else worth our time will happen between now and Christmas. We are really just getting to the good stuff.