(Author’s note- This article was written for the May edition of the Palestine Methodist Church newsletter. Find out more about Palestine Methodist Church at http://www.palestinemethodist.org)

Easter Sunday has come and gone. The Easter baskets (except for the Easter grass- that stuff gets EVERYWHERE) have been put away. The chocolate Easter bunnies have been eaten and whatever Easter candy is left in the stores is likely at least 50% off. The Easter bonnets and fancy Easter dresses and clothes have been shoved to the back of the closet until next year. The Easter Lilies have disappeared from the store shelves. All around us the world says that Easter is over.

But the church clearly says the Easter is not over. Easter in the church is a 50-day season that runs from Easter day to Pentecost. It is the most joyous and celebrative season of the Christian year. The white paraments of Easter day remain on the altar, pulpit, and lectern. We continue to sing the hymns that remind us that Jesus is alive and risen. Easter is the time when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Easter is and should be a reminder to us that we believe daily in a risen and living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In fact, every Sunday is a “little Easter” when we remember that Jesus is alive. Even during Lent, Sundays are not counted in the 40 day season, because Sundays are feast days, days of celebration, days when we celebrate that Jesus is alive. Thus when you count the days of Lent on the calendar, the number of days is greater than 40, since Sundays are not counted.

What if we remembered every day that Jesus is alive? What if we celebrated his presence with us daily? In Romans 6:9-11, Paul writes “9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (NIV, emphasis mine) What if we truly lived alive to God in Jesus? How might it change us? How might it change the world?

The next time you see the Easter bunnies and Easter lilies and all the other decorations and reminders of Easter on clearance because Easter Sunday has passed, remember that Easter is not over! We serve a risen and living savior and through his life, death, and resurrection he lives in us! Easter is not over, nor will it ever be, for those who are followers of Jesus. Praise be to God for a living Lord and Savior!

In the name of the LIVING Savior,
Kevin D. Smith