We just spent the last forty days in Lent fasting, praying, and giving alms. Now we transition to a time of celebration as we rejoice that Jesus rose from the dead to new life. There have been many prophets that have come along through the years, but only one was resurrected from the dead into a glorified body. Without Jesus’ resurrection, there would be no Christianity and no hope for us as well. We now rejoice in the fact that the grave will not be forever and we too will one day rise to new life as well.
Just as it’s important from time to time to fast, pray, and reflect on our life to ensure we are strong and pointed in the right direction, it’s also important to celebrate. We all need some time to relax, have fun, and enjoy the world around us. The celebrations that we have in this life point towards the never ending celebrations we will hopefully have in Heaven for all eternity.
Lent was forty days, but the Easter season is fifty days. We should spend these fifty days celebrating in some way. I may have given up sweets for Lent, but you can bet I’m going to be eating ice cream during Easter. Life might throw some bad news or curve balls our way during this Easter season, but even if that happens, we should still try to find some goodness in the world around us and take time to realize that something unimaginably good waits for us after the darkness clears.
Of course, we still need to pray and talk to God. We still should give alms and always make sure we are on the right path, but we should also definitely make time for celebration during the fifty days of Easter. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
