A Different View of Easter: What If New Life Is Already Here?

Earthquakes, lightning, guards collapsing, a once-in-history moment that feels too big to miss. That’s one way the resurrection story gets told, and it can quietly train us to believe God only shows up when life gets cinematic. We start by looking at Matthew’s dramatic Easter scene, then we slow down and notice who actually stays standing: the women who come in grief, with questions, ready to do the hard, ordinary work of love.

Then Luke’s razor-sharp line cuts through our expectations: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” We talk about what that question exposes in everyday Christian life, especially when we’re waiting for a sign, a breakthrough, or a spiritual high to prove our faith is real. Easter becomes more than a calendar holiday. It becomes a new start that reaches into spiritual health and into how we relate to God, to our family and neighbors, and to the parts of ourselves we struggle to call worthy.

From there we name the gifts that have been here all along: community that serves, grace that holds, hope that pulls us forward, and the small holy moments that don’t look “spectacular” until we finally pay attention. The promise is simple and stunning: you are loved even when you are unlovable. We end with a butterfly release as a symbol of transformation, and a question you can’t dodge for long: what would your “butterfly life” look like, and who might be blessed if you let God grow it in you?

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Transcript

Matthew’s Big Easter Moment

Pastor Darren 0:00

Well, it is a story that uh most of us are familiar with. It's Easter time. This is the Easter story. And Matthew in particular, he likes to build it up big. You know, you might call him like the big picture director of the four gospels. Did you notice earthquakes and lightning and guards, presumably strong guards who are guarding things? That's what makes you know why they're guards. They get laid flat by this thing that happens. The only ones who are left standing are these women who have come to see Jesus. They understand the message. Then they are sent off to do their job of giving that message. But you can feel the confusion, right? These people are showing up. They're looking to take care of the body to finish this uh really unfortunate task, and they've got these questions. Uh, so you can see that uh um there's some confusion there of what's going on, and we can have some heart for that. I'd like, in some ways, Luke's version of this story because it it has this one key question that is asked by the angel to the women when he says, Why do you look for the living among the dead? An interesting question to ask. Right? In some ways, you'd think, well, we're looking for Jesus' body. This is what happened, and now we're coming to do the right thing and prepare that body for what it needs to be prepared for. That's not really a good question necessarily, but it points to something bigger that we human beings, it seems like we have this thing about wanting everything to be big. We want a big message, we want something to be amazing. And that is really why he's asking that question, I think. He could be asking, well, why are we looking for Jesus here when the big thing is out there? The big thing is right under your nose. In some ways, that big thing is is new life, which we celebrate here at Easter. A new start. We know about new starts. This invitation to new living. We even have a day for new starts, right? New Year's. Right? That day where you get that exercise regimen ready and going, right? You resolved to keep sweet, keep sweets to a minimum. You resolved on not drink coffee for a day or so, right? You commit 53 books read this year. One each week, plus the entire Bible, right? New Year's. This is what we do. We know new starts, but this is a different kind of new start that's happening. Easter is a different kind of new start. It's a bit about our spiritual health, about our body and our mind, but it's really about that relationship with God, is it not? It's about how we view our connection with God. It's about how we view our connection with others, our family, our friends, the people we don't like so much. Right? It's about that kind of uh reflection time. And isn't it really about how we view and connect with ourselves as well? Do I like myself? Do I see myself as worthy? These are the questions of this new start, this Easter new start. Am I going to be understanding myself in the way that God wants me to understand myself? Am I going to understand the world and God in the way God wants all that understood? To me, that's why this question that is asked in Luke's version is why it's so interesting to me. Why do you seek the living amongst the dead? What are you looking here for? Why are you in this place looking for something that's alive, something that's abundant? You've been given the answer. Jesus spent three years giving you the answer. While you're waiting for some amazing things to happen here, while you're getting excited, maybe even grounding your faith in whether or not something amazing happens, we're missing the gifts that have been here all along. I would argue from before even when Christ came, even before Christ. One of those is the gift of community. In this community, we're able to serve each other, to experience what service feels like, to love one another, to care for one another, opening ourselves to this amazing way to understand life. We have these gifts of hope and of grace that we understand is coming through a relationship with God. Hope meaning there there is a good, there is a love that we can work toward, grace being that unconditional love. We keep waiting for Matthew's version of Jesus' resurrection, earthquakes, lightning, guards being knocked out. But the truth is, these gifts, they were available to us all along without all that stuff. Some would even say that Jesus' main point in coming here was that we might realize that there are these gifts that exist well before Jesus was even here. Jesus wanted us to open ourselves to these gifts, to experience these gifts, allow ourselves to be blessed by these gifts. You want a gift that would put you on your heels, or at least it should put you on your heels? How about the fact that you are loved even when you are unlovable? And don't pretend you're not unlovable every now and again. Come on now. Only Mark is never unlovable. Am I right? Okay. Way to work with me. Yes, and. No, anybody can love somebody when they're great and they're doing great work and they're loving God and they're loving others, but what about when they're not? This is something we understand about the message that Jesus brought to us. We are loved even when we are unlovable, and we can experience that love through a community that embodies it. Those are gifts that should knock us on our heels. Maybe this is why Jesus sometimes is disappointed in people in the Bible, because they're looking for this spectacular thing. Meanwhile, he's saying these gifts, they're already here. They're ready to be experienced. The smile of a loved one. The smell of a flower. The grace in a work of art. The music of a choir on Easter morning. An arm around your shoulder when you need that. A caring act that brings a lump to your throat. A tear of joy that goes down your cheek. Aren't these the signs we're looking for? Aren't these the abundant life, the new life that we're looking for? The signs of true authentic love? And they're not that spectacular either. These are things that we can know and we can experience. You're getting an invitation this Easter. Why don't you taste and see what Jesus is offering you? Why don't you give this life that's grounded in love of God and love of others that's grounded in God's grace, unconditional love for us? Why don't you give that life a test drive here in Easter season? What if that is your new life? Christ died that you might be made aware of this life to know that it's accessible to you. Why not give it a try? Why not take it off the lot? We can signal your start too. You guys have been hearing about the surprise for today. One of my colleagues down in Orange County said he saw the video. He had to text. What's the surprise? Is it pastoral liturgical dance? No. I said.

unknown 10:05

Everybody in the provinces.

Choose Joy And Start To Fly

Pastor Darren 10:07

Yeah, no, no. It's butterflies. I imagine some of you have had that experience. Where you all come together and we all have butterflies. We are blessed that Claudia West uh felt that in her heart and wanted to share that on Easter. And so we're gonna head outside after worship, and we are going to be setting butterflies free to represent new life. You heard Miss Charissa talk about the life of the butterfly from the caterpillar to the cocoon to the beautiful butterfly? Why don't you be that butterfly? Look at yourself as that litter little caterpillar. Maybe you're doing fine. Maybe you're doing a little less than fine, but you're looking at something better. What would that butterfly look for you? What would it look like for you? What skills would it have? What skills might you adopt or or make stronger? What what personality traits might you take on were you to become that butterfly? Whose life might be better because of you? God is hoping to see you embrace the joy and the confidence that comes from knowing that you are loved unconditionally. Make this a happy Easter. Take advantage of this gift of new life. Figure out the butterfly that you're supposed to be, the butterfly that God is creating in you and hoping to see flourish and start to fly. 'Cause He Is Risen. Amen.