Dear Brothers and Sisters,
ALLELUJAH! CHRIST IS RISEN!
And so we come to the last Sunday of Easter. After today, no more of those fun (annoying?) Easter jokes. A change in the color of the church. Different music. And in a couple of weeks, a different Eucharistic prayer. It’s part of the way that the church processes time. We are reminded that while we watch the clock and turn the calendar pages in the ordinary world, the world of faith keeps to a different timetable.
How constantly astonished the disciples must have been in the days after Jesus’ resurrection! From the shocked silence following his death, to the utter disbelief as tales of having seen the living Christ began to circulate, to personal encounters with him. Then, the experience of the Ascension—while teaching them, he was carried up to heaven. After so many amazing experiences, they must have been wondering, “What can he do to top this???” And top it he did! The Holy Spirit swooped in and filled all of them!
And then….they got busy carrying the Good News abroad. For us, we have the long, long weeks of the Pentecost Season, sometimes called Ordinary Time, till we come back to Advent and it all starts again. I’ve never liked the title “Ordinary Time”. It is anything but ordinary! It is filled with stories from the Hebrew Bible, more events from Jesus’ life, explanations and writings from the early church, and many wonderful saints days. Sometimes it is called the Season of the Church—much more appropriate in my mind.
St. Phillip’s Anglican Church in Australia has a wonderful image of the church year (see below), that helps us understand the rhythm. It also has a great summary of the meaning of the seasons. If you’d like to see more visit this website. Get ready for a series of quick changes in the next three weeks, till we settle down to the long GREEN season of Pentecost.
https://stphilipsoconnor.org.au/discovery/seasons/
Joy!
Mo. Laura+
UPCOMING
June 4, 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM St. Margaret’s Annual Community Yard Sale (view/download flyer)