Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

There are certain Easters that this call and response feels so joyous, so full of promise. And then there are other Easters that may feel different.

I don’t want to speak for you, but there have been Easters when my heart has felt like it was still firmly still locked and sealed inside the tomb while all the fun and joy of Easter went on around me. And then there are the Easters that are everywhere in between, so however this celebration of Jesus’ resurrection lands in you today, just know you are welcome. Your heart fits here and the promise of resurrection is just as alive for you as anyone else. The promise is for you, as it is for all of us.

If your heart doesn’t quite feel like it’s bounding out of the tomb with streamers and trumpets and joyful hymns celebrating Christ’s triumph over death, then that’s just not where you are in God’s divine pattern of death and resurrection. But you are somewhere in that pattern. Afterall there are the tricky problems in ourselves as well as in our families, communities, country, and around the world. But it all fits, somewhere in God’s pattern.

You may have noticed that there are a lot of butterflies around the church today. The butterfly has long been a symbol for Easter and that is because of the life cycle of the butterfly, right? Who remembers the life cycle of the butterfly? I’m guessing the kids know this better than the adults, perhaps. 

So, kids, I’m going to be asking you some questions, so get ready with your ears and your hands. Who remembers how butterflies begin life and what happens next?

• They begin as fertilized eggs that a momma butterfly lays, kind of like a chicken, right?
• The eggs develop into caterpillars; fuzzy ones, green ones, yellow ones, stripey ones.
• And then what happens? They make a cocoon that surrounds their bodies, like they are getting ready to do a big magic trick. But it’s not magic, it’s biology, right? What happens in the cocoon? Metamorphosis!
• When the caterpillar is done turning into a butterfly, she or he struggles out of the cocoon, strengthening their wings through that process so they are ready to fly when they emerge as butterflies!

The caterpillar only appears to be dead in the cocoon but then emerges as something more extraordinary than was before. To the disciples, the Roman authorities, and the people, Jesus also appeared to be dead and did in fact die. But through the grace and power of God, Jesus emerged as something more profound and extraordinary than was before.  

Jesus’ death and resurrection is a big story that tells us big truths about our world for us to believe or at least wrestle with. Truths like:

• Death is not the end and love really does win
• Or that God so loves us that God gave and gives everything for the sake of love, forgiveness, redemption, and justice
• Or the truth that there’s nothing we can do to separate us from God’s inclusive love
• Or there’s nothing we can do to stop new life coming into the dark tombs of our suffering, just like there’s no way to stop the cherry blossoms from coming into bloom

New life comes, God loves us, love wins, and we can rest in the sure promise of life and love without limit or end. That’s what Easter is all about.

Now, all the symbols of Easter point towards God’s promises of abundant life. Bunnies, eggs, flowers, butterflies, and my favorite, chocolate. Chocolate alone is proof of God’s love, is it not?

However, the butterfly is a particularly poignant metaphor for Easter, because the very nature of the butterfly includes the cocoon. Just like there is no resurrection without death and the tomb, there is no butterfly without metamorphosis. It’s part of the deal.

There’s an important aspect to metamorphosis that we haven’t talked about yet and that is what happens in metamorphosis. So, let me ask the kids again. What happens to the caterpillar in metamorphosis? All the cells that make up the caterpillar get rearranged to make the butterfly. Caterpillars kind of turn back into the gooey pile of cells that they were originally formed out of to be remade, reborn into beautiful butterflies.

If the caterpillar had consciousness like humans, this process might feel like death or at minimum, highly problematic! The caterpillar might think that all the very important and highly necessary work of eating every leaf in site was all for naught. However, everything the caterpillar ate and experienced was brought into that cocoon and was used as the fuel for the important transformation of metamorphosis and the emergence of the butterfly. Everything that caterpillar experienced was put to work and included in this transformation. All of it mattered and it was all gathered into the cocoon until the butterfly was ready to emerge in its new life, challenges and all.

Unlike butterflies, though, humans don’t just go through metamorphosis once. Transformation happens again and again in our lives. It happens to us physically as we grow up but also as we age, even if we don’t turn completely to goo in these processes. Transformations also happen in our hearts and in our souls. It happens cognitively as we learn new things. It also happens in our families, in our communities, and in the world.

The promise of God is that everything we are, all we have done or have experienced for good or for ill, will be gathered in and created anew into something beautiful. Not once, but again and again. Us humans get to experience God’s promise of new life again and again in our lives today, as well as in our experiences to come after death. Every part of us is gathered in and loved into new life in God’s holy life cycle of human grace and renewal.  

In the Matthew telling of the resurrection that we heard today, the author makes sure we know that Rome was bent on asserting its authority over God. The tomb was sealed with the seal of Rome with centurions placed out front to make sure there was no funny business. Indeed, there are situations in this world or in our lives that seem hopeless, where no amount of love or goodness seems to be adequate to change the dark status quo.

However, the promises of God are steadfast. No matter how dark the tomb, no matter how disorienting the cocoon, new life is coming in beautiful ways and in places and times that we could not have anticipated. In the Matthew story, the resurrection comes with an earthquake that terrifies and breaks worldly powers for the sake of God’s kingdom. However, in other gospels, the story of the resurrection comes in different, quieter ways. Mary Magdalene was alone in the garden when she first saw Jesus in the gospel of John or in the gospel of Mark, the women leave the empty tomb in fear and silence without ever seeing Jesus. Indeed, not every resurrection story in our lives or in the world is the same, but resurrection will always come.

How ever your heart is this Easter Sunday, whether you are rejoicing or suffering or somewhere in between, remember the promise of Jesus’ resurrection is for you. It is for you now and in the life to come.

May you be filled peace and confidence that God’s action is unfolding in your life and in our world. God’s best work comes through the darkness of the tomb and the cocoon. That is the path of the cross. May you and all you hold dear be blessed, loved, and renewed this Easter morning and in the days to come.

AMEN