So, here we are just over one week after Easter Sunday. Vigils are finished. Sunrise services are over. Dishes from the youth breakfast have been washed and put away. Brass and tympani fanfares have concluded. Flowers on the cross have begun to wilt and blow away. Fewer pews are filled.

In most communities, spring break is over. Easter vacations have ended. The return of familiar routines begin. The joy of Easter is still there, but it has diminished somewhat with a return to “the real world.” Nevertheless the antiphonal Easter proclamation continues. “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!” Did you notice just a tad bit less enthusiasm?

Christ’s resurrection is a reality. Yet it’s impossible to maintain the emotional and spiritual highs of Easter morning. The excitement has disa…