THE MONARCH

Reminding Us of the Resurrection

John 11:25-26: "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'"

Photo Credit: Ed Saternus, Sanibel Island, Fla.

During this Easter season I’ve been thinking a lot about the Monarch butterfly. My mom loved those orange-winged beauties so much.  She wore them as earrings, on her t-shirts and even as decorations on her flip flops. A  huge picture of a Monarch butterfly that she painted  hung over the sofa  in her living room for nearly  30 years. And if you weren’t careful, she’d paint one on you too! Ha!

Personally, it’s  just fascinating to me that the  endangered Monarch migrates  3000 miles from southern Canada and the northern USA to the oyamel fir forests in Mexico each year,  laying eggs on milkweed along the way. And the metamorphosis of the golden-spotted chrysalis becoming a butterfly in 10-14 days is definitely  an amazing  miracle.

No wonder Christians use the Monarch as a symbol for the three stages of Christ -- his life here on earth,  in the tomb and upon resurrection.  In  Mexico when the Monarchs  return,  the townsfolk  celebrate The Day of the Dead because they believe the butterflies contain the souls of their ancestors. 

When my mom died, we decided to release  Monarch butterflies at her burial. It definitely turned out to be a surreal experience.  The butterflies  arrived a day ahead of the service packed in dry ice.  Each one was pressed flat  inside a parchment-like envelop.  As we took the envelopes out of the dry ice a half  hour before the release, we could watch  the butterflies’ spotted wings begin to vibrate slowly. 

As the end of the service, my husband and my daughter,  who sat off to the side,  began playing their guitars and singing  my mom’s favorite hymn, “In The Garden.”   It’s hard to believe, but suddenly tiny raindrops from somewhere fell on them as they began to sing – only them. I don’t know if the Mexican lore about a soul returning could be true; but when we released our butterflies, mine fluttered near  me for a minute then flew over and landed on my mom’s marker as the others soared into the sky.

Mary Elizabeth (Hunter) Zischkau - Warning 1922-2009

Luke 24:6-7: "He is not here; he has risen!"  

After thinking about it, I’ve decided this spring I’m going to plant a patch of milkweed in my garden to help sustain the Monarchs —   and to help remind me that no matter how long or how hard the journey there is always new life with Christ.

             I believe! Happy Easter!

It’ll Be OK.

~~~

 “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.”  ~ Charles Schulz

COMMENT: How do you plan to celebrate this Easter?