By Laura McClain
Christians who worship within a liturgical tradition such as Anglicanism are accustomed to a long buildup to Easter. First we observe the penitential season of Lent, and then Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and the great Triduum—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil, or the Easter Eucharist itself. After all that anticipation, it’s a delight finally to belt out the great resurrection hymns on Easter morning, to feast with family and friends, and finally, perhaps, to collapse for an Easter afternoon nap. After all that excitement, for many it feels like business as usual on Easter Monday. If this seems like a bit of a letdown, you’re right: It doesn’t make sense to return to our normal lives after Easter Sunday, and in fact, for most of the Church’s history, Christians have known this and have acted accordingly.
Many Christians new to the liturgical calendar find the season of Lent to be a breath of fresh air. Lent is our opportunity to prepare our hearts for Easter, to walk the journey to the Cross with Christ, and to experience anew the miracle of redemption. But while Lent is a great season of spiritual growth, its disciplines may also prove tiring. Whatever your Lenten observance, there is a good chance that you might arrive at Easter Sunday with a case of spiritual fatigue.
The Church’s tradition knows this, and has an answer: the season of Easter, or Eastertide. The long forty days of Lent are a prelude to the even longer fifty days of Easter. In fact, the “great fifty days”, as it was called, was actually celebrated in the Church even earlier than the Holy Week services we know so well. Pope Leo III called Eastertide “The feast of feasts”—the greatest feast of all after the long work of Lent. It is the resurrection feast that cannot possibly be contained in only one day. [Liturgy for Living, Charles P. Price & Louis Weil, Morehouse Publishing 1979, p. 161]
Fasting is obviously a spiritual discipline, but it is easy to forget that the practice of feasting is a discipline as well. Jesus tells us “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). As Christians, if we truly believe in the good news of the resurrection Gospel, we must not refuse to be comforted. During the great feast of Eastertide, we proclaim to the world that our Lord is alive and with us today by forsaking the sackcloth of fasting and putting on our wedding garments. As Jesus told the Pharisees, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast” (Mark 2:19).
So how do we embrace this fifty-day feast in our worship? Our liturgy offers multiple ways.
Reading through the Acts of the Apostles in Worship
Imagine that you are a new convert to Christianity in the third or fourth century. You’ve just completed a long journey as a catechumen, and have finally been baptized and welcomed into full communion at the Great Vigil of Easter. So what happens next? You’re no longer a catechumen, but a disciple. Your apprenticeship continues in the reading of book of Acts for the five Sundays following your baptism. [Commentary on the American Prayer Book, Marion J. Hatchett, HarperCollins 1995, p. 326]
Reading through Acts during Eastertide is likely the Church’s the most ancient lectionary tradition, for the very good reason that Acts is the story of how the Church responds to Christ’s resurrection. Put simply, the miraculous events in Acts are evidence of the reality that Christ is alive and at work in the world through the Holy Spirit. That the early church prioritized reading this book every year during Eastertide is evidence that it was vitally important to the Church’s understanding of the resurrection.
Fifty Days of Easter Music
The great hymns and praise songs of Easter are just too good to contain in one Easter Sunday service! Just as the music in Lent changes to a somber, repentant, and meditative tone, so the music in Easter should be jubilant and joyous. In Eastertide, a whole season of Easter music is a feast for the soul. Any contemporary worship song that focuses on the resurrection is a great choice to sing during Eastertide, and the 1982 Hymnal contains a wealth of Eastertide hymns in numbers 174-213.
Our prayer book tradition appoints several canticles, or songs of praise, as particularly suitable for Eastertide: Magna et mirabilia (The Song of the Redeemed); Cantemus Domino (The Song of Moses); Dignus Est (A Song to the Lamb); and Cantate Domino (Sing Unto the Lord). These songs from Scripture focus on the triumph of the Lamb and God’s mighty work in redeeming his people. While the canticles are specifically for use during Morning and Evening Prayer, including these Easter canticles in Sunday worship, either spoken corporately or in song, carries the festal work of Easter throughout the entire season. [ACNA Texts for Common Prayer, Supplemental Canticles]
Easter Collects
Just as in Holy Week, the first week of Eastertide offers a wealth of collects (or prayers), one for every day of the week. The collects for Sundays in Easter continue to teach the resurrection message. Find a way to celebrate and worship every day during Easter Week. Beyond using the appointed Sunday collects, you might consider offering the Easter Week collects to families to include in their devotions at home. Praying these special collects kicks off the feast of Eastertide by marking that this season is different and special. [BCP pp. 222-226]
Paschal Candle
The Paschal Candle, lit for the first time at the Easter Vigil or on Easter Sunday, should remain lit in the church for every Eucharist service in Eastertide, as a visual reminder of the light of Christ in us. The Paschal Candle also reminds us of our new baptismal life, as the candles symbolizing the light of Christ and given to the newly baptized are lit from the Paschal Candle. After Eastertide, the Paschal Candle is to be put away, but brought out and lit again at every baptismal service. Significantly, the Paschal Candle is also to be lit at funerals, reminding us that the baptized believer who has departed this life has been born into eternal life.
Furnishings in the Church
The liturgical color for the entire season of Eastertide is white or gold. These celebration colors call to mind the pure white garments of baptism, the gold of royalty as a sign of Christ the King, and the white or gold of the wedding feast, in which we anticipate the marriage supper of the lamb. Altar linens and other artwork may also reflect the seasonal colors, and Easter lilies or other white or colorful flower arrangements for all the Sundays of Easter are especially appropriate.
Feasting Together
Perhaps your church engaged in works of service and almsgiving together during Lent. Our corporate work of Eastertide is to feast. Celebrate together as a church family with picnics and parties. Invite the neighborhood to join in!
In summary, the season of Easter often sees an increase in visitors, so churches may want to focus on welcome during this time. It is the perfect season to invite newcomers to experience the beauty of the resurrection. The season of Eastertide, suffused with the joy of the living Christ, is a small picture of the New Jerusalem. Let us be known as a people of true joy.
Laura McClain serves as the Diocesan Worship Resources Coordinator for C4SO. A graduate of Wheaton College, Laura is now working on her Masters of Pastoral Ministry at Nashotah House. After serving in various capacities at All Saints Church in Durham, NC, St. Peter’s in Tallahassee, FL, and Christ Church Plano, Laura served as the Associate for Traditional Liturgy & Worship at Church of the Incarnation, in Dallas, TX.
