Feast Day 7 of 7 | Easter Sunday
“‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.” Leviticus 25:8-10a
You did it. You navigated forty fasting days and today marks the seventh feast day. It’s Easter, also known as Resurrection Sunday!
In his Lenten sermon, Augustine focused on fasting and prayer to humble the spirit against pride and to learn to battle temptation in life after Lent. He writes, “The number forty is the time of our labor, but the number fifty is the joy of our reward. Therefore, we fast for forty days before Easter, but we celebrate the fifty days after Easter with joy.”
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in Sermon 210.
Why celebrate today? Christ is risen. He has conquered sin and death. We are free of the punishment for sin and from the power of sin.
Why do it for fifty days? Fifty is the number for Jubilee in Scripture. We rejoice because we labored forty days and seven sevens, now we spread joy to others until we observe Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit fifty days after Easter.
Through giving, prayer, and fasting we have learned to surrender and grasp life. Now we get to go live it with new rhythms and great hope.
Jesus, I will share this life and hope with others. Amen.
We proclaim liberty on Easter because we are free. But not everyone knows this freedom. Make a gift today or start giving monthly to a ministry that helps spread the good news about Jesus to others.
If you want to support my upcoming trip to Pakistan from 14-23 April 2026, make a gift to the Generosity Monk fund here.