The Risen Gardener

Yesterday, I wrote about the perspective of the disciples on Good Friday.  They were in a state of grief and deep disappointment as they watched their teacher, friend and master crucified and slain to the mocking and ridicule of onlookers.  Their hopes were dashed in an instant.  Jesus was not who they expected.  We often share in that same disappointment.  Sometimes we think God is going to handle a situation a certain way and when he doesn't we're disappointed.  Perhaps its the death of a loved one or a bitter divorce.  Maybe its in the midst of raising a rebellious teenager or the loss of a job.  We become disappointed and think that Jesus isn't who we expected him to be.  We wait, just as the disciples did on that Saturday, without hope, in disbelief, and anger.  But then we slowly begin to hear the soft melody of a song.  The chorus begins to play in our hearts, "Oh death, where is your sting.  Oh Hell, where is your victory."  Its the beginning of hope as it rises within us.  Something new is happening.

That first Easter morning when Mary went to the tomb, she was startled when she found it empty.  She assumed that they had taken Jesus' body somewhere and even told the angels that appeared to her that that was the case.  Her grief over Jesus was palpable in this moment.  In the midst of her weeping she sees a man who she takes to be a gardener.  Indeed, the man is a gardener, but again not the gardener we expect.  He is the Risen Gardener.  He is the one who will make all things new.  Mary's grief and disappointment is replaced with joy and a renewed hope.  As we see Jesus interact with the rest of the apostles and disciples, we see a new hope within them.  Their old dreams of freeing Israel from Rome's tyranny are still gone.  They have been laid to rest in the empty tomb.  In their place however arises a new and greater hope.  A hope in the present and future kingdom of Jesus.  With Jesus' resurrection, he pronounces that the new kingdom has begun.  The next act in history has taken place and he comes as a risen gardener to begin the work of making all things new.

This work begins in us.  The hope of freedom is indeed alive and well in the disciples, but it is not from Rome's tyranny any longer.  It is the hope of freedom over the oppression of sin.  With Jesus' resurrection, he has become king and lord over us.  No longer does sin rule.  His resurrection proclaims that God is king and he is doing something new.  Just as Jesus put to death our sin on the cross by paying for our deserved punishment, he gives us the promise of new life.  His resurrection and identification as a gardener points back to the beginning of creation where God created the garden.  In this garden he raised plants and wildlife and there he chose to place man in his own image and to be his representative in creation.  Yet his resurrection and identification as a gardener also point towards the very end as well where we see the new Heaven and new Earth.  We are able to hear the words, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man."  We hear Jesus' words as he says, "Behold, I am making all things new."  Is there any greater news?  God is Lord over the Earth.  One day all of our disappointments will fall away for God will dwell with man once again. 

So on Good Friday we commiserate with the disciples in their disappointment and grief, but we also lay those disappointments before the cross and we wait for God to do something new.  On Easter morning we behold the risen Christ.  Our disappointments are washed away as a new greater hope fills our hearts.  One that points to the forgiveness of our sins and the binding of ourselves together with Christ.  In Christ's resurrection we are risen from the depths of our sin.  We become coheirs with Jesus as celebrate his lordship.  May our hope be made new on this Easter Sunday.  May we revel in the victory of Christ over death.  May we relish in our forgiveness and take joy in the new work that God is doing.  May we set aside the disappointments that we laid at the cross and boldly proclaim, "He is Risen!"  May we hope in the Risen Gardener.