Pastor Darren: Well, it is a story that uh most of us are familiar with.
Pastor Darren: It's Easter time.
Pastor Darren: This is the Easter story.
Pastor Darren: And Matthew in particular, he likes to build it up big.
Pastor Darren: You know, you might call him like the big picture director of the four gospels.
Pastor Darren: Did you notice earthquakes and lightning and guards, presumably strong guards who are guarding things?
Pastor Darren: That's what makes you know why they're guards.
Pastor Darren: They get laid flat by this thing that happens.
Pastor Darren: The only ones who are left standing are these women who have come to see Jesus.
Pastor Darren: They understand the message.
Pastor Darren: Then they are sent off to do their job of giving that message.
Pastor Darren: But you can feel the confusion, right?
Pastor Darren: These people are showing up.
Pastor Darren: They're looking to take care of the body to finish this uh really unfortunate task, and they've got these questions.
Pastor Darren: 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.
Pastor Darren: 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?
Pastor Darren: An interesting question to ask.
Pastor Darren: Right?
Pastor Darren: In some ways, you'd think, well, we're looking for Jesus' body.
Pastor Darren: 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.
Pastor Darren: 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.
Pastor Darren: We want a big message, we want something to be amazing.
Pastor Darren: And that is really why he's asking that question, I think.
Pastor Darren: He could be asking, well, why are we looking for Jesus here when the big thing is out there?
Pastor Darren: The big thing is right under your nose.
Pastor Darren: In some ways, that big thing is is new life, which we celebrate here at Easter.
Pastor Darren: A new start.
Pastor Darren: We know about new starts.
Pastor Darren: This invitation to new living.
Pastor Darren: We even have a day for new starts, right?
Pastor Darren: New Year's.
Pastor Darren: Right?
Pastor Darren: That day where you get that exercise regimen ready and going, right?
Pastor Darren: You resolved to keep sweet, keep sweets to a minimum.
Pastor Darren: You resolved on not drink coffee for a day or so, right?
Pastor Darren: You commit 53 books read this year.
Pastor Darren: One each week, plus the entire Bible, right?
Pastor Darren: New Year's.
Pastor Darren: This is what we do.
Pastor Darren: We know new starts, but this is a different kind of new start that's happening.
Pastor Darren: Easter is a different kind of new start.
Pastor Darren: 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?
Pastor Darren: It's about how we view our connection with God.
Pastor Darren: It's about how we view our connection with others, our family, our friends, the people we don't like so much.
Pastor Darren: Right?
Pastor Darren: It's about that kind of uh reflection time.
Pastor Darren: And isn't it really about how we view and connect with ourselves as well?
Pastor Darren: Do I like myself?
Pastor Darren: Do I see myself as worthy?
Pastor Darren: These are the questions of this new start, this Easter new start.
Pastor Darren: Am I going to be understanding myself in the way that God wants me to understand myself?
Pastor Darren: Am I going to understand the world and God in the way God wants all that understood?
Pastor Darren: To me, that's why this question that is asked in Luke's version is why it's so interesting to me.
Pastor Darren: Why do you seek the living amongst the dead?
Pastor Darren: What are you looking here for?
Pastor Darren: Why are you in this place looking for something that's alive, something that's abundant?
Pastor Darren: You've been given the answer.
Pastor Darren: Jesus spent three years giving you the answer.
Pastor Darren: 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.
Pastor Darren: I would argue from before even when Christ came, even before Christ.
Pastor Darren: One of those is the gift of community.
Pastor Darren: 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.
Pastor Darren: We have these gifts of hope and of grace that we understand is coming through a relationship with God.
Pastor Darren: Hope meaning there there is a good, there is a love that we can work toward, grace being that unconditional love.
Pastor Darren: We keep waiting for Matthew's version of Jesus' resurrection, earthquakes, lightning, guards being knocked out.
Pastor Darren: But the truth is, these gifts, they were available to us all along without all that stuff.
Pastor Darren: 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.
Pastor Darren: Jesus wanted us to open ourselves to these gifts, to experience these gifts, allow ourselves to be blessed by these gifts.
Pastor Darren: You want a gift that would put you on your heels, or at least it should put you on your heels?
Pastor Darren: How about the fact that you are loved even when you are unlovable?
Pastor Darren: And don't pretend you're not unlovable every now and again.
Pastor Darren: Come on now.
Pastor Darren: Only Mark is never unlovable.
Pastor Darren: Am I right?
Pastor Darren: Okay.
Pastor Darren: Way to work with me.
Pastor Darren: Yes, and.
Pastor Darren: 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?
Pastor Darren: This is something we understand about the message that Jesus brought to us.
Pastor Darren: We are loved even when we are unlovable, and we can experience that love through a community that embodies it.
Pastor Darren: Those are gifts that should knock us on our heels.
Pastor Darren: Maybe this is why Jesus sometimes is disappointed in people in the Bible, because they're looking for this spectacular thing.
Pastor Darren: Meanwhile, he's saying these gifts, they're already here.
Pastor Darren: They're ready to be experienced.
Pastor Darren: The smile of a loved one.
Pastor Darren: The smell of a flower.
Pastor Darren: The grace in a work of art.
Pastor Darren: The music of a choir on Easter morning.
Pastor Darren: An arm around your shoulder when you need that.
Pastor Darren: A caring act that brings a lump to your throat.
Pastor Darren: A tear of joy that goes down your cheek.
Pastor Darren: Aren't these the signs we're looking for?
Pastor Darren: Aren't these the abundant life, the new life that we're looking for?
Pastor Darren: The signs of true authentic love?
Pastor Darren: And they're not that spectacular either.
Pastor Darren: These are things that we can know and we can experience.
Pastor Darren: You're getting an invitation this Easter.
Pastor Darren: Why don't you taste and see what Jesus is offering you?
Pastor Darren: 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?
Pastor Darren: Why don't you give that life a test drive here in Easter season?
Pastor Darren: What if that is your new life?
Pastor Darren: Christ died that you might be made aware of this life to know that it's accessible to you.
Pastor Darren: Why not give it a try?
Pastor Darren: Why not take it off the lot?
Pastor Darren: We can signal your start too.
Pastor Darren: You guys have been hearing about the surprise for today.
Pastor Darren: One of my colleagues down in Orange County said he saw the video.
Pastor Darren: He had to text.
Pastor Darren: What's the surprise?
Pastor Darren: Is it pastoral liturgical dance?
Pastor Darren: No.
Pastor Darren: I said.
unknown: Everybody in the provinces.
Pastor Darren: Yeah, no, no.
Pastor Darren: It's butterflies.
Pastor Darren: I imagine some of you have had that experience.
Pastor Darren: Where you all come together and we all have butterflies.
Pastor Darren: We are blessed that Claudia West uh felt that in her heart and wanted to share that on Easter.
Pastor Darren: And so we're gonna head outside after worship, and we are going to be setting butterflies free to represent new life.
Pastor Darren: You heard Miss Charissa talk about the life of the butterfly from the caterpillar to the cocoon to the beautiful butterfly?
Pastor Darren: Why don't you be that butterfly?
Pastor Darren: Look at yourself as that litter little caterpillar.
Pastor Darren: Maybe you're doing fine.
Pastor Darren: Maybe you're doing a little less than fine, but you're looking at something better.
Pastor Darren: What would that butterfly look for you?
Pastor Darren: What would it look like for you?
Pastor Darren: What skills would it have?
Pastor Darren: What skills might you adopt or or make stronger?
Pastor Darren: What what personality traits might you take on were you to become that butterfly?
Pastor Darren: Whose life might be better because of you?
Pastor Darren: God is hoping to see you embrace the joy and the confidence that comes from knowing that you are loved unconditionally.
Pastor Darren: Make this a happy Easter.
Pastor Darren: Take advantage of this gift of new life.
Pastor Darren: 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.
Pastor Darren: 'Cause He Is Risen. Amen.