Easter: The Season of the Resurrection of Jesus

By Wesley Hill

Continuing the Fullness of Time series, my book club very appropriately read Easter this month. It is a short book. Not a devotional, not an academic tome, Easter begins with a very engaging introduction describing a Great Vigil of Easter service Wesley Hill attended at a beautiful cathedral in England twenty years ago. He then moves into the story of the first Easter when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He documents what he describes with Scripture references from all four Gospels weaving in important information about the context of the accounts.

Next, Hill discusses the liturgy used in Anglican and other churches relating baptism symbolically to the resurrection and the new life believers receive when they decide to follow Jesus. Easter is a movable feast, not occurring on the same calendar day each year. It is a complicated calculation, but Hill does share how to figure it out and the factors on which it is dependent. (Or, like me, you can just look the date up on the Internet or a calendar.)   

Hill does not just leave us with a risen Lord. He moves on to how the church liturgy highlights the book of Acts which focuses on Jesus’ disciples. Their world has been turned upside down, but Jesus does not abandon them. When He ascends to be with God the Father in heaven, He leaves instructions for His followers to share the Good News and promises to send a helper, the Holy Spirit, to empower them. 

Rating: 5/5

Category: Christian, Religion, Spirituality, Theology

Notes: The Fullness of Time series is edited by Esau McCaulley. It is composed of six stand alone books that can be read in any order: “Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.” A seventh book is currently in process to complete the series.

Publication:  2025—InterVarsity Press

Memorable Lines:

Mercy for the undeserving is the overriding, hope-awakening theme of Easter.

Prayer, then, is our asking for what we need from the one who has triumphed over the world’s processes of decay and disorientation. We aren’t trapped by the limited options of life as we’ve always known it. Jesus is alive, and he exhales healing vitality, and wholeness into our world. His Spirit is with us.

The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!