Easter season a chance for renewal, revival
In the Friday, March 29, edition of the Butler Eagle, we learned about the preparations some clergy are making for Easter, especially the color of the vestments Lutheran and Catholic clergy wear during Lent and Easter.
On Sunday, the blue and purple robes worn for Lent will be replaced with white ones to celebrate Easter.
“The white symbolizes joy and the institution of the Eucharist,” Rev. Jim Kurtz said.
The joy is understandable. Easter is the holiest day of the year for Christians, the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and, along with that, his promise of life after death to those who believe in him.
Easter is a chance for believers to deepen and renew their faith. It comes after Lent, a six-week season focused on reflection, penitence and preparation.
Lent offers us a chance to examine our own lives and how our behavior aligns — or doesn’t align — with what we believe.
And the Easter season is a chance to put that insight into practice and to consider how our lives can better reflect the faith we profess and the values we celebrate.
Easter’s connection to spring and the rebirth of the natural world should remind us of the spiritual rebirth Christians had at baptism, as well as the promise of eternal life.
Because although Easter marks the end of the preparation and prayer of Lent, it’s the start of something else, as noted in the Gospel of Matthew’s account of his disciples finding the tomb empty.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
For us, like for them, the message of Jesus’ resurrection is that we must follow Him to share in the everlasting life He promises.
— JK
