The Extension of Easter

As we find ourselves at the end of the month of April, we continue in the weeks of Easter.  In fact, if we consider the entirety of the Sundays which revolve around the Solemnity of the Resurrection, there are those which are a preparation for Easter and those which are the extension.  Before Easter there are 3 Pre-Lenten Sundays, 5 Lenten Sundays and then Palm Sunday for a total of 9 weeks.  Following Easter there are 6 more Sundays in the Easter season, followed by the Solemnities of Pentecost, Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi.  Again, there are a total of 9 weeks.  Beginning this year as well the Polish National Catholic Church will celebrate the Solemnity of the Word of God following Corpus Christi Sunday (this year June 9) so in fact the extension of Easter is one week longer than the preparation.

I mention this because people often mention to me that the Lenten season seems so long to them, but they never mention that reality for the Easter extension even though its longer.  I suppose this is in part because the Lenten season places demands upon us in terms of the Lenten disciplines, and most of us aren’t fond of demands.  But I suppose it is also because when Lent begins we know that we are looking forward to Easter.  We see it from 9 weeks away as Pre-Lent begins, then 6 weeks away when we come to Great Lent and so on. 

When we consider the weeks following the great celebration of Easter, we don’t often consider it in reference to that day at all, especially as we get further from it.  The resurrection of the Lord is somehow in the past, even if it’s the very recent past and we focus rather on the appearances of the Lord to His disciples and finally upon the ascension of Jesus to heaven and the Descent of the Holy Spirit followed by the great solemnities of the time of the Church.  This is an attitude that we need to begin to change.  We must keep our connection to the Risen Christ.

Yes, these weeks after Easter each have their own themes.  The first few deal primarily with the encounters of the disciples with the Risen Lord, in fact most occurring on the day of, and the week following, the resurrection.  In the following weeks, we move on to the celebration of our Lord as the Good Shepherd and in the fifth week to a focus of our Lord as the vine and all of us, as His disciples, being attached to Him, abiding in Him. 

This image is the one that we need to begin to change our view of what is actually occurring during the entire Easter season as well as when we enter the time of the Church, the solemnities following Easter and then Ordinary Time.  In all of these celebrations we are called to abide in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  And this means to abide in all that He is as He lives today.  At Easter we celebrated the triumph of Jesus over sin and death, and we confess that in and through this we too are forgiven and saved.  As we celebrate this freedom from our sins, we join ourselves with the passion and death of Jesus as well as His resurrection.  It is partly for this reason that we do not put away the crosses within our Churches, or even our homes, when Lent is over.  The passion and death of Jesus is always a part of who we are.  But we must bring the same attitude in consideration of the Resurrection of Christ.  If we reflect on the matter, we must say that we live today in our Christian faith because Christ lives.  We must be intimately connected to the resurrection life of Christ. 

As we hear the Gospel on the Fifth Sunday of Easter, we must reflect on the full implications of the image.  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-grower.  He removes every branch in Me that bears no fruit.  Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit.  You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me as I abide in you.  Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.  Whoever does not abide in Me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples.” (John 15:1-8)

We notice that the word “abide” occurs many times in this particular Gospel selection.  The word from Greek which translates to ‘abide’ means a little more than just ‘to dwell’.  It means to ‘remain’, ‘be present’, to even to ‘be held and kept’.  We must then bring all of these realities to the entirety of our life of prayer, worship and work.  When we gather for Holy Mass we encounter there the risen Christ, and it is not just a brief encounter.  We do not leave Christ at the door when we return to our homes and to our lives.  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ ‘remains’ with us as we go about our daily lives.  And if we give our lives over to Him, if His ‘word abides in us’ then we will begin to be changed and perfected by His presence.  This is what it means to “bear fruit’ for God, the vine-grower. 

Certainly we know that this ‘fruit’ is shown in the actions of loving kindness that we can show for one another.  Every act of kindness or love to another, every good and kind word of encouragement or help, every good and holy thought are certainly good fruit.  But it must go even deeper than this.  These actions, or words, or thoughts are not what will save us.  It is being configured to Christ, abiding in Him.  Then when we abide in Christ all of these actions, words and thoughts will flow from a life united to the resurrection life of Jesus. 

It is in this that the last definition of ‘abide’ may be the most important for us, ‘to be held and kept.’  Jesus desires to hold our lives united to His and He desires that we are captured for God and His kingdom.  But we certainly do have freewill.  Jesus will not impose this on us.  So ultimately, we must ask ourselves, ‘Do I desire to be held and kept by Jesus?’  And also, “What am I doing to help this become a reality?”

We recall here another Gospel of the Easter season, the Road to Emmaus, “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the scriptures.  As they came near the village to which they were going, He walked ahead as if He were going on.  But they urged Him strongly, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’  So He went in to stay with them.  When He was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.” (Luke 24:27-31a)

If we desire to be held and kept by Jesus we must pray that “He stays with us.”  We must invite Him into our lives and all that we are.  We must allow ourselves to feel the burning of our hearts within us as we hear His word and allow it to abide in us.  Then at these times, and most fully in the breaking of the bread, that is the Eucharist, we will fully encounter the Risen Christ as these disciples did. 

In the extension of the Easter season that we are presently in and in its continuation in the next many weeks, seek to be held and kept by the Risen Christ.  Surrender your life, will and all that you are to Him.  Abide in Christ the vine, allow the vine-grower to prune you to bear good and holy fruit for the kingdom, and then the risen and living Christ will fully abide in you.  And you abide in Him, you will have life because of Jesus.