Today is the first day of Easter Week. I know, you think of Easter week as being last week! But last week was Holy Week, this week is Easter Week. Confused? Well, it’s not that big of a deal, so don’t worry about it.
Suffice to say that this is a time of true celebration. Actually, tradition has it that the entire week is just one long day … a time to worship, shout for joy, sing songs of praise, laugh heartily, and focus on the astounding truth of the resurrection. That’s quite a party!
There is no fasting this week and many countries even make today (Monday) a holiday. The Orthodox Church calls this Bright Week, which is really rather nice because it expresses the excitement and disposition we should all have, as well as the natural radiant beauty of a Risen Savior. A little brightness in our hearts, minds and souls would be a good thing! As my friend Zak Landrum might say, leave it to the Orthodox Church to get the imagery just right.
Whatever your tradition, perhaps this is how we should live all of the time. Thankful, joyful, celebratory. Tony Campolo got it right when he wrote the book The Kingdom of God is a Party. There is much to celebrate, in particular that we worship a Living God.
I’ve really enjoyed writing these posts about Holy Week. Hopefully the little insights, from my newly named Pigeon Monday to Bright Week, have been interesting. I’ve tried to keep things fairly short, and that has meant not delving into so many other wonderful traditions and histories (I haven’t even begun on Coptic Christianity, for instance). Perhaps another time!