from Treasury, p. 189The Easter season is a fifty day-long season of joy extending from Easter to Pentecost. During this time, the Church celebrates the end of Christ's struggles and proclaims His victory over death and the reception of the benefits of His life, death and resurrection as gracious gifts of love and mercy for all who believe in Him. This is the Church's great season of joy! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Of course -- it's counting the Omer! Passover and Pentecost are connected in the Law, and they are transformed in the Gospel in the same way, as the deliverance from Egypt was for the point of being given the Law, so the deliverance from sin points to the giving of the Spirit. God himself counted the Omer from the Passover of his Son to the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost where once the giving of the Law was celebrated! That's why all those guys were in Jerusalem fifty days later.
ReplyDeleteDo you know where the custom of the Easter Greeting in many Lutheran churches became "Alleluia! He is Risen...He is risen indeed. Alleluia!" instead of "Alleluia! Christ is risen...He is risen indeed. Alleluia!"
ReplyDeleteWhile I can't document it, I believe it came into Lutheranism from the Orthodox via the influence of the liturgical movement. The Orthodox have a series of these standard greetings between priest and people for the seasons. That one happens to be Easter's.
ReplyDeleteI knew the framework of the greeting was from the Orthodox but I am curious in the difference between saying "He is risen" instead of "Christ is risen"
ReplyDeleteOh, I see, I'm sorry, I read too fast. No, I have no idea why they'd leave Christ off...
ReplyDeleteThey know who they're talking about? ;)
ReplyDeleteBill,
ReplyDeleteI don't know why other Lutherans do it, but I do know why I do it...
There are some (especially in the ELCA, but also in several other denominations) who believe that "the Christ" descended onto the man Jesus at his baptism at the beginning of His ministry...
They also erroneously claim that the "Christ" didn't die on the cross, but that Jesus died. So they also falsely teach that Jesus didn't rise from the dead, but "Christ" appeared to the disciples...
So when I greet my members on the Feast of the Resurrection, I either say "Jesus Christ is risen.. He is risen indeed!" Or simply "He is risen..."
Pastor Mark Drews
Zion Lutheran, Mt. Pulaski, IL
(LC-MS)