Living in Easter time
Though Easter Sunday this year is now past, it's good to remember that in the Christian calendar, Easter (sometimes called Eastertide) lasts 50 days, spanning Easter Sunday to Pentecost. This season reminds us that Jesus' resurrection is not only a past event, but a continuing reality. Christ and Mary Magdalene at the Tomb by Rembrandt (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) On Easter Sunday morning, nearly 2,000 years ago, the God-man Jesus rose from death to newness of life. He was not merely revived (as was his friend Lazarus), but through resurrection became something entirely new--glorified humanity, not subject to death. Lazarus' grieving sisters asked Jesus to revive their dead brother. He replied, "Your brother will rise again" (John 11:23). They thought he was referring to the promised resurrection of the dead at the end of the age. But Jesus' enigmatic, rather shocking statement was this: I am the resurrection and the life. (v25a) Jesus' own resu...