Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Look, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
Written by Dr. Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler | Director of Ministries in Music & Arts / Organist
I remember my fascination with butterflies when I was a small child. I remember the day I discovered a chrysalis (not knowing it was called that way back then!) hanging from a branch in our garden. I asked my mother what it was, and after she explained I checked it daily, wondering how anything beautiful could emerge from what looked like a lifeless shell. I remember my parents trying to explain metamorphosis, but my five-or-so-year-old mind couldn’t grasp how a caterpillar could become something entirely new. It sounded like pure magic to me!
Then one day, I found an empty broken shell. I was fortunate to find the butterfly still nearby, its wings slowly unfurling in the sun. I remember feeling a sense of wonder I’ve never felt before.
This transformation, which is still a mystery for scientists, reminds me of Paul’s words about our own future transformation. Just as a caterpillar can’t comprehend its destiny as a butterfly, we can barely grasp what awaits us. Our current bodies, subject to illness, aging, and death, are promised to be transformed into something magnificently imperishable.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the promise of everlasting life. Help us to live with hope, knowing that our current limitations are temporary, and that you have prepared something far more glorious for us. Amen.