Easter begins a new season. The power and glory of the Resurrection forges forth a new way of being. Life and death have been transformed. The emptiness of the tomb demonstrates the power of what has been left behind as well as previews the promise ahead. 

“The explosive force of the Resurrection is too vast to be contained within a celebration of one day….The first day of the season, Easter Day, is the opening of a protracted celebration, even as the Resurrection is itself the opening to a vast new reality.” --Laurence Hull Stockey

When Jesus walked out of the tomb, we were given a new identity, a new purpose, and a new way of life. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in us and empowers us to live lives of Christlike compassion and love. In the weeks of the Easter season, we journey from the tomb with Jesus and the early disciples from that perspective. From the Day of Easter to the Day of Pentecost, we find God in flesh and in spirit moving in the world and in us.

"The story of the Resurrection is that creation is wired for new beginnings. The story of the Resurrection is that fear and hate and grief do not win the day. Love does." --Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin

The season from Easter to Pentecost is also called the Great Fifty Days, a tradition inspired by the Jewish season of fifty days between Passover and Shavuot, the feast celebrating the giving of the Torah to Moses. The liturgical color for this season is celebratory gold. When the season ends on Pentecost Sunday, gold is replaced with red. This color reminds us of fire, symbol of the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit overpowered the barriers of culture and race.