It's Friday but Sunday is a comin

Today my wife and I were on a relaxing walk in the countryside, beside our bedsit (near Lisburn), when we saw two butterflies, in their majestically beautiful colours of black on orange.

It reminded us of the various phases the butterfly had to go through to push through to its final stage of beauty.

The LIFE-CYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY has four main stages

Firstly, there is the Egg - A butterfly starts its life as an egg.

Secondly, it develops into Larva - The larva or caterpillar hatches from the egg and eats leaves or flowers almost constantly. The caterpillar molts or loses its old skin many times as it grows.

Thirdly is the Pupa - It turns into a pupa or chrysalis; this is a resting stage or it’s period of cocooning.

Finally, it becomes an adult – It then pushes through to emerge as a beautiful flying adult butterfly. There is no growth during this stage. This adult, what we see flying around us as a butterfly, will continue the cycle and reproduce more eggs. 

This life cycle of a butterfly is a process called metamorphosis, where each butterfly goes through these 4 stages from an egg to a larva, then to a cocooning pupa, and finally, it turning into a beautiful butterfly.

There are two things I would like us to consider from the life of the butterfly this Good Friday.

Firstly, metamorphosis is the journey of transformation from egg to adult butterfly. 

Interestingly, the first word of the Gospel is the Greek word ‘metanoia’ meaning ‘to repent’. It means the change of heart and change of mind resulting in a change of behaviour, that happens when a person becomes a Christian. It is a spirit and soul transformation. 

Secondly, cocooning – Cocooning is what the vulnerable groups in our society have been doing to avoid Covid19. Insulating, sheltering, and isolating. Cocooning is the pupa stage. It is a hard stage, but it is not the end. 

It involves pushing through to seeing the final stage of development.

For all of us in “lockdown” I hope you get a vision of the beauty of our society, the kindnesses shared in the cocooning stage, and that we evolve as beautiful expressions of love in action, both to God and for our fellow man.

It was only two butterflies, but understanding their life cycle, is symbolic of the transformation we can enjoy together. 

May your life enjoy the new life of metanoia. 

Also, when you are feeling the pressure of "cabin fever", remember that cocooning is not the end. There is a new day coming. The cocooning stage of the butterfly, although necessary, in time will pass.

Happy Easter everyone – it’s Friday but Sunday is coming