So, what is mission? It is sharing in the work of Jesus for the sake of the world by the power of his Holy Spirit. It is Jesus’ work that we are invited into. Lesslie Newbigin, a great 20th-century Anglican missionary, puts it in a more memorable way: “The church is a pilgrim people on its way to the ends of the earth and the end of time.”

Instead of closing the church for a few days after Easter Sunday, Wright suggests that churches host activities throughout the week to continue the celebration. The importance we place on Holy Week should be matched by the days that follow Easter Sunday. The joy of Easter cannot be contained in a singular day.

The cross is awful, even downright offensive. And yet, the man on the cross is beautiful. Though disfigured from hours of torture, Jesus was beautiful—it was the purest act of love ever done, and it was the culmination of a life that was radically different from any other we have seen. Throughout his ministry, there was something otherworldly about him that attracted sinners and saints to drop everything they were doing and follow him. He practiced what he preached to the bitter end.