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Good morning. In the life of the Church, Easter is not just an event, the day when Jesus was raised from the dead; it’s also a liturgical season, the forty days between Easter and the Ascension. Students of the Bible will know that the number 40 appears often to denote a reasonably lengthy and also a significant period of time. So, for example, there are 40 days and nights when the rains come down and the waters rise up in the Flood, and 40 years of wandering through the wilderness for the Israelites as they leave Egypt to find the Promised Land. The same is true of Jesus’ life and ministry; after his baptism, he spends 40 days in the wilderness being tested about his calling. And now, in the Church’s calendar, we are just over halfway through the 40 days Jesus spends with the disciples between his resurrection and ascension.
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For the disciples, it’s a time for coming to terms with all that’s happened, an appreciation not just of the truth of Jesus’ teaching but the reality of who he is. It’s also a time when Jesus prepares the disciples to continue after he has gone; how it is that, strengthened by the Holy Spirit; they will be empowered to carry on that same ministry which he has modelled while with them. In many ways, this is the same challenge that Christians still face during the Easter season today; how to fulfil our calling, not just to bear witness to Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life, but also, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to become part of his Risen Body, ready to share his life and reveal his love to the world.
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Almighty God, Christians believe that in the resurrection of Jesus you reveal yourself as Lord of life & conqueror of death; help us today to bear witness to your risen life and make real your love for the world, Amen.