It may seem crazy to call it Eastertide when Easter is clearly over! - but if you look in your diary, you will find the Sundays are numbered Easter 1, Easter 2, and so forth. These are the forty days during which the Risen Christ appeared again and again to his disciples, following his death and resurrection.

The Gospels give us little of Christ's teachings and deeds during those forty days. Jesus was seen by numerous disciples: on the road to Emmaus, by the Sea of Galilee, in houses, etc. He strengthened and encouraged his disciples, and at last opened their eyes to all that the Scriptures had promised about the Messiah. Jesus also told them that as the Father had sent him, he was now going to send them - to all corners of the earth, as his witnesses. Eastertide ends with the Ascension of Christ.

the stories can be found in Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; and John 20.

Whit Sunday, 30 May, we begin the second half of the Christian Calendar Year. During the first half of the year (Advent to Whitsuntide) the Church's focus has been on what God has revealed to Man, particularly through the history of the Christ becoming man and of his divine deeds on earth. Now, in this second half of the year (from Whitsuntide back to Advent) our attention is focused on Man's response to God - through faith, through commitment, through loving deeds and through trying to understand Christ's transforming work within each individual man and woman. So the smaller festivals of this second half of the year give us a magnificent opportunity. As we remember the lives of different saints down the centuries, we too can seek to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our own lives.

Blessings,
Keith.
1st May 2004