The Easter Season celebrates our Lord’s Resurrection and the Lord’s triumph over evil and death. The sea-son begins with Easter Sunday and concludes with the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost, along with the feasts of Pass-over & Tabernacles were the three major feasts of the Jewish liturgical year. All male Israelites were required to celebrate in the Temple of Jerusalem. The Jewish feast of Pentecost was originally an agricultural feast that did not take form until the Israelites had become primarily an agricultural community in Canaan. Pentecost was celebrated at the time of the beginning of grain harvest. However, in time the motif of the feast changed and it became the anniversary of the giving of the Law (Torah) to Moses. In the Christian era, Pentecost became the day that the Apostles received the Holy Spirit (Acts c.2).

Although some designate Pentecost as the birthday of the Christian Church, this is a reading back into histo-ry. St. Luke’s account of the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as narrated in Acts 2, shows forth the histori-cal development of the mission given to the Apostles, “go out to all the world and preach the good news.” As Luke’s account, as narrated in Acts, was written some fifty or more years after these events, there was a historical development of the establishment of the Christian Church.

In celebrating the Easter Season we are celebrating our lives as Christians and the gift of faith which we have received. This past week in the daily liturgy of the Eucharist, the gospels narrate the various appearances or apparitions Jesus made to his disciples. Although no one actually witnessed Christ’s Resurrection, in these appear-ances/apparitions we celebrate the Christ of the Resurrection and we rejoice during these fifty days that we are Christians.

Fr. Bill