Easter isn’t over. According to the Church calendar, Easter Sunday actually began a whole 50-day season of Easter.

Just as for the 40 days of Lent we mourned, repented and fasted, for the season of Easter we are supposed to rejoice, celebrate and feast. You would think we would be all about the prolonged fun of the season of Easter, but I for one struggle with it, and I think I know why.

We live in what I recently heard called an “instantaneous culture.” Everything from our food to the Internet is expected to be so fast it might as well be instantaneous, so 50 days of anything, even celebration, is very counter-cultural.

Yet this is a place where we need to be counter-cultural because clearly Jesus is, as the Easter season demonstrates. Think about it. After rising from the dead Jesus didn’t go straight back to heaven but rather hung around for 40 days, appearing to the disciples in various settings. Then, once he ascended to his throne, he didn’t send the Holy Spirit right away, either, but rather waited 10 days.

God clearly delights in process, so let’s settle into the process of celebrating Easter.