Together on the Journey:
A Weekly Blog
Sometimes, when people ask me why I am a Christian, I like to joke and say, ‘Because I get 12 days of Christmas instead of just one.’ And while this is not my most serious answer to this question, it does get people thinking about the church seasons, and considering that maybe the way they are portrayed in popular culture is not the entire truth.
And just like Christmas, Easter is also an entire season and not just one day. It extends from Easter Sunday (also known as the first Sunday of Easter) all the way to Pentecost, about 50 days later. All together, there are seven Sundays when we mark Easter, so if you felt let down on Monday because Easter was over, not to worry! You have plenty of Easter left.
And during the season of Easter, we get some very interesting stories about Jesus during the time between his resurrection and his ascension to heaven (which happens right before Pentecost). In Godly Play, we talk about these stories teaching us to know Jesus in a new way, which I think is a good way to look at it. If you were one of the original disciples, and this person who you had been following around for a few years had died and then risen from the dead, then there was no way of knowing how to go forward, and Jesus seems to know this. And so he speaks of peace, and spending time together, and sharing the bread and the wine. In other words, Jesus spends time getting his disciples used to the idea that their relationship may have changed, but it is not gone, and in doing so, he helped open their eyes to a future where Jesus is still present, just in a new way.
Many of these stories of Jesus centre around sharing food together. I think this may be a reason why sharing food is such a cornerstone of Christian community, because if food is how Jesus brought his disciples together in the beginning of the movement, then it’s a good model for us to follow. So this Easter, I invite you to think if there is someone you would like to invite to share food with you. Because in welcoming others to the table, you may just welcome Christ as well.
– Jess