Remember

Easter Sunday  C   April 21, 2019

Isaiah 65:17-25  Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:19-26  Luke 24:1-12

Johnny finished school on Thursday night and he picked his backpack and went outside to wait for his mom.  And he was very excited to leave for a long weekend for Easter.  When mom picked him up at school.  She asked, "Johnny, you seem really happy."  "I am," he said.  "Tomorrow is Good Friday so we don't have school and then we have a long weekend and Sunday is Easter and we'll have an Easter Egg hunt and we'll have lots of fun.  And I am really excited about something, but I forget about what I am excited about.  I had something really exciting to tell you but I can't remember it now.  Mom said, "Don't worry, Johnny you will remember."

"Oh, Oh, I was so excited to tell and I can't believe that I forgotten what I wanted to tell you."

Well, Good Friday came and Johnny got up early and came to breakfast.  Mom asked him, "Johnny did you remember what you wanted to tell me?"   Johnny said, "I remember being excited in my sleep last night, but I can't remember it this morning.  I know it was something special but I can't remember."

Johnny went to church and walked the Stations of the Cross with his family on Good Friday.  And he went to bed on Friday night.  He ask his mom to put a band aid on his finger.  She asked him, "Why do you want a band aid on your finger?"  Johnny said, "Maybe if you put a band aid on my finger, maybe I will remember the exciting news that I wanted to tell you about but forgot."  So Johnny went to bed with a memory band aid on, but it didn't work.  He got up on Saturday and he still could not remember.  But he did enjoy playing all day on Saturday and he was really tired on Saturday night.  When he went to bed and when his mom was tucking him in, Johnny said, "In my prayers, I am going to ask God to help me remember the exciting news that I wanted to share with you and the family."  Mom said, "Okay, let's pray."  And when they finished praying, mom said that she had a surprise for Johnny.  "What is the surprise?"  Johnny asked.  Mom said, "Well, tomorrow on Easter Sunday, after the Easter service and the Easter Egg hunt, we are going to go to the beach and have a picnic.  And your cousins are going to be there too."   Johnny said, " Wow...that's great, now if I could only remember my exciting news, I could share it with them too."

On Easter morning Johnny got up early and he made sure his Easter Egg basket was ready.  He went to church with his family and he got to wear a new lovely bright and colorful shirt.  He had a great time singing the happy songs of Easter and he collected about fifteen Easter Eggs on the church lawn.  He was really happy about that, though his mom, said that he could only eat one piece of chocolate before their picnic lunch.

Johnny's family got home from church and they packed up all of the blankets and towels and the beach toys.  Mom told Johnny to make sure and bring his backpack because it had his gym shoes and shorts that he could use at the beach, so Johnny threw his backpack into the back of the car.

Johnny and his family and his cousins had a great time and a great picnic at the beach.  But something strange happened.  Johnny's cousin Joey suddenly stopped on the beach and he yelled at Johnny, "Is that your backpack lying on the sand?  Why are those butterflies coming out of your backpack?"

Everyone on the beach started looking at Johnny's backpack.  The flap had fallen open and out of the back pack there flew one butterfly, two butterflies, three butterflies, four butterflies and five butterflies.  Mom asked Johnny, "How did those butterflies get in your backpack?"  Johnny said, "Oh, now I remember what I wanted to tell you.  When I left school last Thursday, the teacher let me bring home all of the cocoons from the terrarium.  We put them in a shoe box and put them in my backpack."

Mom said, "Well they are no longer cocoons.  They are now beautiful butterflies."  Johnny said, "Wow these butterflies were born on the the perfect day.  Just like Jesus Rose from the grave on Easter day, these butterflies have come out of their cocoons at just the right time."

Mom said, "I bet that you will never forget this Johnny."   Johnny said, "I will always remember Easter because I forgot about the cocoons, but the birth of the butterflies on Easter has made this a special day."

Easter is day that we celebrate the great change that took place in the life of Jesus.  He seemed to be dead and in a grave forever and his friends were sad.  But he came back to life to came to see his friends again.  And they were very happy.  And they never forgot this day.  And they shared this special day and now we again remember and share this special day.

Alleluia, butterflies come to life out of dead looking cocoons.   Alleluia!  Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen indeed.  Alleluia!  Amen.