Christ is risen! Indeed he is risen!
Pentecost is the fiftieth day after Pascha, and also the name of the period of fifty days between and encompassing these feasts. Hence, this mid-point of the festal period is Mid-Pentecost, the middle of the fifty. “In the middle of the feast,” we are reminded that Christ, the Wisdom of God, is constantly present in the midst of the Church, offering his people the living water. He is the Beginning and the End, yes, but he is also here in the middle. Indeed, as we learn from the so-called Wisdom Books of the Scriptures, this is one way of defining wisdom: wisdom is recognizing creation as the divine handiwork and seeking knowledge of God through the contemplation of his creatures. Wisdom, in short, is encountering God in the midst of things. Or, to affirm the same reality from a different starting point: Christ, the Wisdom of God, is the plan for all things that exist; as St. Nikolai of South Canaan would affirm, all creation is sign and symbol pointing toward the Mystery of Christ. Hence, even at the midpoint, the space between the beginning and end, Christ our God is always present and nourishing his thirsty people with the water of wisdom. Therefore, even as we patiently run our race toward the End, let us treasure this time in-between, making use of time and creation to the glory of God the Creator. After all, it is in the finite, “middle term” of mortal life that we either orient ourselves toward salvation or damnation. May God preserve us from the latter and grant us, despite our sins, to receive the former, through his patient love for mankind.