CHRIST HAS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!  What happened this day is the high point of all Christianity.  The day of Christ's resurrection is the apex of human history.  Without His resurrection, Christianity is all a sham, the biggest fake, the ruse of all times.  But with His resurrection, there is joy for a joyless world, and hope for a hopeless world.  And so we gather once more to say:  CHRIST HAS RISEN!

          The women came to the open grave and heard the angel say, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here;  He has risen!"  Newton's Law of Gravity says, what goes up must come down.  But God's Law of Resurrection says, what goes down must come up!  In this we rejoice together today.

          About ten years ago, while living in our condo on Broadway, we had an older couple for neighbors.  They were quiet, had no children and were very devoted to each other, but never socialized with their neighbors, nor did they have company.  Now and then we'd take a holiday meal over to them, and they thanked us, but we rarely saw them outside their home.

          One day I saw her carrying some items to the dumpster and offered to help.  It turned out they were her husband's clothes and she was throwing them away.  Her husband of 55 years had died and none of us knew it!  She said it happened two weeks ago, but there was no service, and she had donated his body to the CU Medical School.  She said, "We don't believe in religion, so there's no need to do anything more than this."  We were all stunned.  We wrote her a card and took her some food, but she didn't want it.  We rarely saw her at all after that.

          That's life without faith and hope!  That's life without resurrection!  You go to a funeral, bury the body, then go home -- nothing more.  Or else you don't do anything, like our old friend, and just go on living till you die.  Such hopeless living leaves a hollow spot in life with nothing to fill it.  Without Christ's resurrection that we celebrate today, Christianity is nonsense, just another religious hoax.  And worst of all, we're lost, separated from God forever.  But we're here this morning to affirm, to proclaim, and to rejoice in a living Savior, the risen Christ, the Son of God once buried, but alive.  "Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here;  CHRIST HAS RISEN!"

          Perhaps you noticed the butterfly in the bulletin.  There are many resurrection symbols - the Easter Lily, whose bulb sleeps in darkness until it's time to grow forth and bloom once again;  the sunbeam that gives its brightness to the world after darkness;  and also the butterfly - mysterious and lovely, delicate and short-lived.

          Why would this symbol be chosen?  Jesus wasn't delicate.  He didn't live six months and then die.  He was a vigorous man who lived a full and robust life, a true man among men, Servant of servants and King of kings.  So why a delicate butterfly to symbolize our Lord and His resurrection?

          The symbolism is based on the butterfly's life, not its looks.  A butterfly starts life as an ugly, creeping caterpillar.  People aren't drawn to it, and most are repulsed by it.  Jesus was like that.  Isaiah 53 tells us, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

          Sounds a like a caterpillar, doesn't it?  That was the reception Jesus received from most people during much of His ministry.  Some liked him, but some were suspicious, others treated Him with contempt, and most ignored Him.  When He died, people didn't miss a beat, just went on with life, like most of us ignore a caterpillar on a branch.

          But then a strange thing happens.  The caterpillar spins itself a web.  It buries itself inside a web of its own making, going dormant and seeming to die.  For awhile there is no life, and from all appearances only death.  But then a miracle happens.  The ugly creature bursts open the cocoon, stretches its wings and flies away.  The caterpillar is transformed into a beautiful butterfly.  New and beautiful life flies in the heavens, far from all memories of that lowly creature, crawling along in life.

          Jesus' followers watched Him spin His own web.  They warned Him not to do it, but He did it anyway.  His web brought Him to the cruel cross to die.  He was buried in the stony cold cocoon of the grave, closed by a rock, and all life was shut out.  It looked as if the end had come.  To anyone else, that would have been the end!

          But then came the surprise.  Jesus came out of the grave.  The rock was removed and He wasn't there.  He broke free of the ugly web, spread His wings of love and left behind an open grave, the symbol of the new life we are all promised when we die.  He appeared to His disciples and followers, a new and glorified Christ that came and went as He willed, going through doors, appearing and disappearing, winging His way like a newborn butterfly.  Forty days later He left them for good, His mission accomplished, and from there the Holy Spirit took over.

          Do you see the symbolism?  The dead comes to life, and the despised becomes beautiful.  Hopelessness is replaced by hope, and sadness with joy.  We come not to Easter commemorating a dead martyr, but worshiping a live hero, Jesus.  CHRIST IS RISEN!

          The butterfly has a special meaning to us modern day believers, too.  Sin makes us pretty ugly.  Our attitudes and actions can sometimes make us repulsive.  Some of us crawl through life, spinning webs and building walls of fear, pride and selfishness.  We shun each other's company, preferring life on our own terms.  These days it's easy to spin cocoons, sealing ourselves off from others and not letting them see who we are.

          But then Christ confronts us with His love and His forgiveness.  His unconditional love cuts through our walls, and His forgiveness tears down our defenses.  No matter who we are, we are forgiven!  No matter what we think we are loved!  We can't deny it!  We don't have to live like caterpillars any more.

          Through Jesus Christ, God tears down the walls we build and accepts us where we are, in our homes, our workplaces, our neighborhoods and in our churches.  Often I've heard people say they wish people were more friendly and loving in churches.  I agree!  We all need to break down the walls we've built around ourselves, to open the door of friendship to all, whether we're long-time Christians or brand new ones, whether we're actively involved in God's work or just spectators watching others work.

          In Christ you and I are freed from our self-made prisons.  We're freed to experience God's love and share it with each other.  We're able to show forth the fruits of the Spirit, like, "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22)  To experience that freedom after the prison of sin is like the butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, re-created anew, excited to be alive, flying free to meet the morning, and wanting to follow the path to its Maker.

          The resurrection of Jesus Christ makes this all possible.  Because He lives, we live.  Because He broke the walls of His prison, we are set free.  Because of His forgiveness, anyone, yes anyone, who trusts in Him is freed from the suffocating prisons we make, free to live each day following the path of our Maker.

          A further thought about the butterfly:  If you see one coming out of its cocoon, don't try to help it along.  Let it take its time and stretch its wings according to its own timetable.  If you help a butterfly fly before its time, you'll stunt its growth.  Its wings will not develop and it'll rapidly die.  Let God move it from cocoon to flight in His way.  In the same way, faith can't be pushed in people.  Our skeptical children or our unchurched friends need patience, prayer and time.  They must respond to God according to His timetable.  With our patience and prayer they usually will.

          If you haven't yet done so, give Jesus a try.  Trust Him completely.  If you feel trapped by a life you don't want, open your heart to Him, and watch Him free you from endlessly crawling from branch to branch, with no plan or little purpose except to consume and exist.  If you feel you're tangled in a web you hate, in a world of secrets and emptiness, let the Lord set you free.  Let Him pull you out of your cocoon and teach you to fly.  Let Him roll away the stones that weight you down and carry you in to the dazzling light of His presence.  Ask Him for forgiveness, and trust that all He did on the cross and open grave was for you.  Open that little faith door to your heart, and let Him in.  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock;  if anyone will open the door, I will come in..." (Revelation 3:20)

          Then you, too, can spread your wings and fly into God's life of freedom, a life of service and joy, a life of fulfillment and hope.  Christ has given His life for us, and has loved us with an everlasting love.  Now we're free to fly with the butterflies.  Amen!

Copyright © 2001 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.