Lectionary Preaching Workbook
The early Christian Church could sustain its cry of "Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!" for the fifty days of Easter and throughout the rest of the year, partly because the people believed that the return of Jesus Christ was imminent. He had promised that he would return soon and usher in the fullness of his kingdom, which he had just begun to reign through his death, resurrection, and ascension. His return did not occur according to any schedule that the faithful had created for Jesus Christ, nor has he come to the earth a second time in the nearly 2,000 years since.
