At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city...

When I was growing up in Lancaster, PA, my best friend, Luke was the son of a Greek Orthodox priest. Since I was the son of a Lutheran pastor, we had a look to talk about, often comparing and contrasting our different traditions. The one difference that always stood out to me was Easter, as it...

I love the audacity of John Donne’s poem – taking on death itself, unmasking it for what it is, challenging it in light of the resurrection. He gains his courage, I think, from the Apostle Paul, who invites Donne – and all of us – to see death along with all the other realities of this...

But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. “Idle tale” is a fairly generous translation of the Greek word Luke uses to describe the apostles’ characterization of the women’s testimony. It’s accurate, but generous. “Leros,” the Greek word in...

The season of Easter runs for fifty days – a veritable week of weeks – from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. But truth be told, most of us don’t think of it that way. We live in a culture that is much bigger on the thrill of anticipation than on savoring the actual experience, and once the...