Easter Afterglow

According to the Urban Dictionary, “afterglow” is the “sense of fulfillment, completeness, and general wellbeing that one feels after the effects of a psychoactive drug have faded”.  But the word, afterglow, has also come to describe an event after an event.  Perhaps after the premier of a play or the last performance, the cast will gather together afterwards for a party or afterglow.  There they will revel with one another about their experience and reminisce over what they accomplished.  Or maybe after a concert, such as at church, there will be an afterglow in the parish hall with refreshments.  The participants in the concert and those who attended will gather with one another as an opportunity to socialize and discuss the concert.

(Self-confession:  sometimes, after a great worship service, I will linger till everyone has gone from the building and go back in the sanctuary for my own personal afterglow.  There I will stand and look around in the quiet of the space and listen to the choirs and the hymns in my memory, replaying the service all over again.  It’s a nice way to linger and let go gently of a great spirit-lifting worship service.)

Let’s face it, not all worship services are the same, just as not all meals are the same.  Some are more memorable than others, particularly holiday meals when family is all gathered together and the menu is something out of the ordinary—like Easter!  Easter worship is always one of the most memorable services of the year.  One reason for that is because it comes on the heels of Lent.  For six weeks we have muted our worship life in preparation for Easter.  And now the time has come to let loose and belt out the Alleluias once more.  There are the favorite Easter hymns that make Easter worship what it is:  “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.  Alleluia”, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” and “This Is The Feast”.  The Choirs and Bells sing and ring with added extra excitement; added musicians bring an extra flair.  And the church, being packed to the gills,  moves everyone to raise the roof in voice and in song.  Truly an electrifying and faith-lifting service! 

But Easter is over and the Sunday following (called “low” Sunday because it is usually the lowest attended Sunday of the year) will be back to regular worship.  But it shouldn’t be that way; and it doesn’t have to be that way.  We have celebrated Easter, the resurrection of our Lord and his victory for us over sin, death, and the devil.  Now it’s time for the afterglow!  Like Christmas, Easter isn’t limited to one day; Easter is 50 days long.  For seven weeks plus one day we celebrate the resurrection.  The Sundays of Easter are like an afterglow—the main event is over, but rather than just abruptly forget it and move on, it is time to linger awhile and let the joy of Easter permeate our heart, mind, body, and soul.  Over the Easter season we can continue to belt out the alleluias with voice and song (Don’t worry if people hear your voice; the Bible says to make a joyful NOISE, not a joyful tune) and sing our favorite Easter hymns a few more times along with some of the other Easter hymns we may not know as well.  The seven Sundays of Easter give us the opportunity each week to meditate more deeply (just as we did in Lent with Jesus suffering and death) on the significance of Jesus’ resurrection for our daily lives as well as for eternity.  Easter is a time of restoration; a time to let the new life in Christ that we have soak in and take us captive and transform us more and more into God’s image.

David, in confessing his sinfulness in Psalm 51, prays to the Lord to “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Not letting go of Easter but letting it sink in and permeate our being—that is afterglow!  A Blessed Easter and a blessed afterglow!

AE