By Rev Kealey McEvoy
Easter Sunday goes by many names: Resurrection Sunday, the Great Vigil, and Paschal Celebration. My younger cousins even asked me mistakenly once if Easter was the Easter Bunny’s birthday. On that euphoric day we embody joy. We wear pastel colors, shout hosanna, and inhale the scent of lilies. We sing hallelujah and are filled with hope.
Eastertide, however, is another story. Eastertide, the liturgical season following the hyperbolic happiness of Easter, is more of a crisis than a celebration. When we look closely at the Scriptures, we see that in each gospel there is one thing common in the days, weeks, and months following the resurrection miracle: fear.
For the earliest disciples, Eastertide was an emergency.
In Matthew (28:2), we see an actual earthquake occur near the empty tomb that shakes the ground as the women walk towards a holy encounter with the rolled away stone. The women are so fearful that the first words the angel speaks to them is “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:5).
In Luke, Scripture explains that while on the road to Emmaus when the risen Jesus encountered the disciples they were “startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost” (Luke 24:37 NIV).
In the oldest gospel, Mark, we have the simplest ending of the Easter emergency which says: “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” (Mark 16:8 NIV).
Finally, in the Gospel of John, after Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus, we find the disciples with “their doors locked” because of “fear” in John 20:19.
In the aftermath of the resurrection, joy was not immediate. For those who lived it, the resurrection brought disbelief, confusion, rumor, grief, and most predominantly fear.
If you look closely, the earliest accounts of Eastertide look a lot like our world today: scary.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. For the 1 in 5 Americans who survive with mental illness every day, fear and anxiety are often common companions. From climate anxiety, to warfare exhaustion, to election worry and pandemic fatigue, there is no shortage of reasons why people are reaching mental health crises at alarming rates.
And thus, it is important to remember that fear is a part of our Gospel story.
To read the entire article, click here
Photo by Chang Duong on Unsplash
By Rev Kealey McEvoy
Easter Sunday goes by many names: Resurrection Sunday, the Great Vigil, and Paschal Celebration. My younger cousins even asked me mistakenly once if Easter was the Easter Bunny’s birthday. On that euphoric day we embody joy. We wear pastel colors, shout hosanna, and inhale the scent of lilies. We sing hallelujah and are filled with hope.
Eastertide, however, is another story. Eastertide, the liturgical season following the hyperbolic happiness of Easter, is more of a crisis than a celebration. When we look closely at the Scriptures, we see that in each gospel there is one thing common in the days, weeks, and months following the resurrection miracle: fear.
For the earliest disciples, Eastertide was an emergency.
In Matthew (28:2), we see an actual earthquake occur near the empty tomb that shakes the ground as the women walk towards a holy encounter with the rolled away stone. The women are so fearful that the first words the angel speaks to them is “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:5).
In Luke, Scripture explains that while on the road to Emmaus when the risen Jesus encountered the disciples they were “startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost” (Luke 24:37 NIV).
In the oldest gospel, Mark, we have the simplest ending of the Easter emergency which says: “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” (Mark 16:8 NIV).
Finally, in the Gospel of John, after Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus, we find the disciples with “their doors locked” because of “fear” in John 20:19.
In the aftermath of the resurrection, joy was not immediate. For those who lived it, the resurrection brought disbelief, confusion, rumor, grief, and most predominantly fear.
If you look closely, the earliest accounts of Eastertide look a lot like our world today: scary.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. For the 1 in 5 Americans who survive with mental illness every day, fear and anxiety are often common companions. From climate anxiety, to warfare exhaustion, to election worry and pandemic fatigue, there is no shortage of reasons why people are reaching mental health crises at alarming rates.
And thus, it is important to remember that fear is a part of our Gospel story.
To read the entire article, click here
Photo by Chang Duong on Unsplash