Meditation on John 20.1-18 (04.13.20)

3rd Reading and Scripture Meditation   
John 20.1-18
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Rev. Elizabeth Mangham Lott
St. Charles Ave. Baptist Church

At the beginning and end of scripture, we find two stories of two gardens:

Genesis 2

In the day that the Lord[a] God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6 but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,[b] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food…The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

Revelation 22

Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants[c] will worship him; 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

And in-between the garden of the beginning and the garden of eternity, there are all other kinds of gardens and seeds and trees and plants and fruit. There are gardens that spring up in the desert, gardens set as the backdrop for a radical choice to be made, metaphorical gardens of the spirit for those who do justice, gardens of beauty where lovers meet and discover a world just for themselves. 

Leaning on the work of Paul Morris and Deborah Sawyer’s, A Walk in the Garden, we come to understand “Throughout the Bible, the garden as a well-watered space set apart for the intense cultivation of plants is an image of both nature and sacred space. At a literal, physical level the garden is a place of life richly nourished, well attended to and appointed for the enjoyment of its human owners or residents. As such, it is a touchstone of such motifs as provision, beauty, abundance and the satisfaction of human need. Next to heaven, it is the preeminent image of human longing.”

“the garden is one of the framing images of the total Bible story…more than a place; it is also a way of life and a state of soul.”

In addition to being “a picture of the perpetual abundance and nourishment of nature,” it is critical to remember that gardens also “require cultivation.” Even the first poetry of a garden that God speaks into being call for a partner-gardener to tend and propagate what is there. Yes, the garden theme evokes images of safety and relaxation but also “a place requiring ongoing human upkeep.” The literal and literary gardens of scripture require our human participation in their thriving.

Gardens in scripture are an “image of the ideal that heightens whatever activity occurs within it. [They] signal nature at its best, romantic love at its best, human well-being at its best, spiritual reality at its best.”

Gardens matter in the Bible. They are not random details. They are not happenstance settings. They are sacred spaces in which the Divine creator meets human partners for the comprehensive flourishing of all things and all beings.

What does it mean for us on this Easter Sunday of all Easter Sundays that Jesus prays in a garden, is betrayed in a garden, dies near a garden, is buried beside a garden, raised from death into newness of life in a garden, and mistaken by one of his closest friends for one who tends and cultivates the earth?

John 20.1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look[a] into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,[b] “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Not a soldier, not an emperor, not an angel, not a warrior, not a religious leader, but a gardener. Mary sees the risen Christ and thinks him to be the gardener. Pulling the weeds. Tending the earth. Pruning the branches. Watering the soil. Turning the compost. Satisfying the worms. Making order out of chaos. Making beauty out of mud. Creating, tending, propagating until that mass of dirt is sacred space for all.

What is the new world that Jesus has created? What will grow there in those people he planted? It’s one in which women are called by name. Not only do they have direct access to the Divine, but they get the first word. Unexpected, overlooked, ordinary workers are called to be part of his traveling ministry crew and empowered to serve in the very same ways he serves. It’s a world in which the weak have a seat of honor at the table, and the powerful can no longer shut them out. The arbitrary boundaries of nation, religion, even sabbath are all knocked down to expand the human awareness of how big and wide and deep the love of God is. It’s a world in which the very best wine is saved to surprise the guests as they think the party is winding down only to keep the laughter and the dancing and the time together going. A world in which thousands can be fed if even a child will step forward as the first to share from his abundance. All of these seeds have been planted by the gardener, and his friends will soon realize their roles in tending, pruning, weeding, and harvesting.

Today, may we find solace in the metaphor of the garden and its gardener that lays before us in the scripture that guides us through these days. May we remember that the new thing in the garden must be tended, and we are called to do that work alongside our risen Christ. Just as Mary Magdalene was called to take the unbelievable news into the world, we now bring that gospel like seeds to the soil, tending them together as we go. Plant seeds for the world at its best and the world as it should be. Plant seeds of justice and grace and compassion and love.

Alleluia, Christ is risen. (Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia.)