EASTER SUNDAY!
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” John 3:1-6 (NIV)
I love butterflies. I have always admired God’s handiwork in these beautiful creatures, but during the most painful season of my life, butterflies became especially meaningful to me. A powerful symbol of transformation and new life, the butterfly spoke to my deepest need in my darkest hour: hope.
When I read this puzzling interchange between Jesus and Nicodemus, it occurs to me that butterflies are some of the few species that actually experience two births, and two remarkably different lives. When my children were small, my family purchased a butterfly dome, and patiently watched five tiny, scrubby-looking painted lady caterpillars grow, cocoon, and emerge re-created from their chrysalides as elegant, winged beings. It was an everyday miracle, happening right in our home—a little taste of heaven, not lost on any of us.
We were awed, I think, not only by the beauty and excitement of the anticipated transformation, but because such a thing speaks directly to the soul. The message of the butterfly is that the simple, plain, ordinary, and even ugly can be radically changed into the exquisite, splendid and magnificent. The deepest longing of my spirit is to know this truth. I need to cling to this promise of redemption of all things: hope.
When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again, I believe that he was not speaking of a one-time event but of a lifelong process. Transformation begins in us when God claims us through baptism, or even before, but it does not end there. I am aware of my need not only to be born again, but to be born again and again and again.
I have read that when a caterpillar is changing inside a chrysalis, the process involves a complete breaking down of the original organism. In other words, if you open a chrysalis during the middle of the process, you will find a gob of goo, not bearing any resemblance to either the caterpillar or the butterfly. The caterpillar is not only transformed; it is completely broken down so that it can be re-formed. The times in my life when I have truly experienced spiritual rebirth have felt a lot like that. Part, or parts, of me, seemed to be broken down completely before they were changed.
The hope and promise of Easter Sunday are impossible without the despair of Good Friday. Birth is painful, but thanks be to God, the Giver of Life, for God’s labor of love!
Prayer:
Holy God, Giver of Life, you make all things new. Thank you for your sacrificial labor of love through which we are redeemed and reborn. May we receive your promise, and live a life worthy of your calling. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Today’s devotional is written and read by Greta Smith.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.
First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
