By the Way: The season of Easter

By Roland Weisbrot on May 17, 2025.

In some Christian traditions, we follow the liturgical calendar which separates the year into various seasons that focus on different parts of Christ’s life and the life of the Church. Easter is the season of all seasons, and it represents the apex of the liturgical year.

This is because, as the Apostle Paul said, “if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless” (1 Corinthians 15:14, NLT). Simply put, if there is no resurrection, there is no Christianity.

This is why every Sunday is, in fact, a mini-Easter. For the reason we meet on Sundays is because it is the day of the resurrection. The crucified Jesus lay in the tomb on the Jewish sabbath (Saturday), but He arose from the grave the day after the sabbath, that is, Sunday.

This begs the question, what does it mean to be an Easter people? A post-resurrection-of-Jesus community of believers?

The answer, of course, is that we are a people of hope: a people who have hope not just in the face of death, but hope in the face of fear, of anxiety, of turmoil, of tyranny, of hatred, of division, of poverty, of illness.

Friends, we have hope, because we have a risen Saviour, and we share in His new and eternal life.

Easter defies sin, death, and the Devil, it defies evil itself and every manifestation of evil. It casts light in the darkest places – a light from which nothing can hide, and a light that brings life to those who embrace it.

In summary, during Easter we confess our Saviour, Jesus, is risen; He is risen indeed, and that changes everything.

Pastor Roland Weisbrot is lead pastor of Victory Lutheran Church

10
-9