An Easter Sermon

A Paradise of Pleasure

EasterB

John 20: 1-18

I am indebted to Norman Wirzba’s Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating.

I invite you to think back to the beginning of Genesis.  “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” The early Church theologian, St. Jerome translated this verse as, “The Lord God planted a paradise of pleasure.”

We have so many images for our God.  Shepherd. Teacher. The Vine. Lover. Father. Potter. Redeemer.

I wonder if you ever heard God described as a gardener?  It is in fact one of the first biblical names for God.  “The Lord God planted a paradise of pleasure.”

Hear it again: God, the Gardener.

God, the Gardener. Today Jesus comes to us as a gardener in the Easter story. Let’s turn our attention to the story.

Mary is the central character of John’s resurrection story—besides Jesus, obviously.  Mary comes to the tomb twice in our story.  Her first visit is early in the morning, before anyone else is awake. The sun has not yet come up and it is still dark outside. John doesn’t tell us why she has come—maybe it is to anoint him with oil and spices.  To pay her respects.  She immediately realizes that the tombstone has been rolled aside, but she does not dare to step inside. Why would she? I mean she’s probably scared out of her mind.   So, she runs to grab the other disciples out of bed. It takes a woman to drag men out of bed, right? 

Peter and the other disciple run as fast as they can and check out the tomb. They see linen wrappings, but they find no body.  “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”  They go home to ponder what they have seen.

Then, Mary returns to the tomb a second time, after the disciples have gone on home. All she can do is sit at the tomb and weep; her heart is broken. At one point, Mary thought things could be different—but that was a long time ago. Things have changed. So she weeps. She wails.

Suddenly, a voice calls out, “Why are you weeping?”  Mary doesn’t recognize the man; in fact, she assumes the man to be a gardener.  It turns out that the gardener is Jesus Christ.

Is this a mistake? Is it a mistake that Mary thought Jesus was a gardener? Or, is it possible that Jesus has been a gardener all along?

Jesus never claims to be a gardener, but just think about all of the agricultural imagery he uses.  Remember the parable of the sower: The sower scatters seed and it meets with different types of treachery: birds, poor soil and the scorching sun, and thorns choked others. Some seed did fall on fertile soil and multiplied.  One of the most famous chapters of John—John 15—draws on extensive imagery of the vineyard. Jesus says, “I am the vine you are the branches, when a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.”

Maybe Jesus is not mistaken to be a gardener.  Maybe Jesus has been gardening all along and we just did not recognize it. Maybe he was gardening when he announced that the kingdom of God had arrived. That he bent down to water plants when he healed the sick and fed the hungry.  That he was pruning vines when he sat down at the table with sinners.  Maybe he was even planting a seed for new life when he hung from the cross and proclaimed, “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Is it possible that Jesus is our Gardening God who can’t leave creation alone? He will not abandon garden—he is always vigilant—watering, kneading, protecting, and enjoying that which he has created.

It makes perfect sense for Jesus to be a gardener. At the beginning of Creation, God created a garden. And somewhere along the way, God’s garden became infested. The soil is no longer fertile and cannot hold life. Slugs and parasites have infested the network.  Deer, rabbits and other rodents have come along and stripped the garden of its leafy substance.  We might call this garden sin.

But now, the story has come full swing.  God has entered the garden in the form of a human being. God could have stopped gardening and we all could have just died.  But God never took off his gloves; God never put down his shovel. God entered into the garden in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to recultivate the soil on earth and bring new life. He came to pull weeds, to prune, and to fertilize so that the earth might be transformed into a garden of delight once again. Yes, maybe Jesus is our gardening God and we did not recognize it until he approaches Mary who is weeping at the tomb.

But Mary does not weep anymore because our gardener has returned from the dead. I have seen the Lord! Mary discovered new purpose, new possibility. Disciples don't have to play by the old rules. In raising Jesus from the dead, God broke the bondage of evil.

The Lord God once planted a paradise of pleasure and now Jesus Christ has remade our world into a new garden of delight.  Our gardener rises from the dead and there is a beginning of a whole new garden.   We are set free for life! Set free to imagine the world in a whole new way. Disease may wilt, but it no longer has the final say. Death may come, but it will no longer reign.  Evil may sprout, but it too has been defeated. Satan is no longer the ruler of this garden, but Satan has been fenced out. This is the beginning of the end. Christ is risen!

One of my old professors, Norman Wirzba, says:

“The God we worship dwells among us as a gardener who holds the soil of our lives in his hands, showers it with rain and blesses it with fruit that gladdens our hearts and satisfies our stomachs. This gardening God never slumbers or sleeps, because there is simply too much to do and too much beauty, fragrance and good taste to enjoy.”

The hope of the resurrection is this: the garden is not where Jesus has died, but it is where Jesus lives. And Jesus still lives today—remaking our world into a paradise of pleasure.

 My parents had a garden when I was a very young boy. I was allowed to help them plant and harvest, but I also wanted a space that I could take care of all on my own.  My mom allowed me to plant a bunch of green beans in pots and place them inside their garden.  I vividly remember the day that my bean plants sprouted one green bean.  I held the bean plant up to my mother, full of pride.  I told my mom that I wanted to be a “seller of beans” when I grew up. 

In reality, I wanted to be a gardener. I still want to be a gardener.  I want to play a part in the mystery of life. I want to create, nourish, and cultivate creation. But I don’t want to just garden plants. I want to garden people and places, because when Jesus Christ arose from the dead, he created a paradise of pleasure. 

Today, let’s put on gardening gloves and be a part of the garden created by Jesus Christ. Let’s smell it and touch it. Let’s feel the new life.  A new garden has come and it tastes so good. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Amen.