Alleluia! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!
Joyful Easter greetings resound from a garden, well-watered, in an arid land. Jesus was crucified in a garden. In the garden was a new tomb. Mary came to the garden. Weeping, she saw Jesus but thought he was the gardener. The word garden echoes evocatively in John’s Easter account.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ, our greatest story, takes place in a garden. The creation described in Genesis is all around as God gives the gift of Easter life. Taking the long view from the Easter garden, we press onward in faith to the river-bank orchard for the healing of the nations in the culmination of the book of Revelation.
Isaiah 58 anticipates resurrection: God will say, “Here I am!” Light will rise in the darkness. God’s people will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water that never fails. Bones will be strong. Hungry people will be fed. The ruins will be repaired. Streets will be restored. Sabbath rest will be given and honored.
Rejoice this day, Easter people! “Walk with gladness in the morning, see what love can do and dare” (UMH 307). This Easter day, we celebrate the intent of God. God intends for this whole world to be a garden where love, justice, joy, and peace abound. We are gardeners with God and nurturers of the New Creation, doing and daring alongside the Risen Christ.
Alleluia! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!
Prayer
Almighty God, you give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection. Give us also the joys of life in your service and bring us at last to the full joy of life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.