Sermon onJohn 20:1-18

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

Jesus was dead. That much was certain. Mary Magdalene had been standing there by the cross, watching when Jesus wet his lips on the sponge of sour wine, when he cried out “It is finished,” when he bowed his head and breathed his last.

Before dawn after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid. Darkness and light are symbolic in the Gospel of John. Light symbolizes understanding, and darkness symbolizes lack of understanding. As much as imagery that casts darkness as bad and light as good has unpleasant implications around race as well as visual impairment, it’s important to know that it’s in the text.

A couple examples:

·       Nicodemus, the confused teacher, came to Jesus at nighttime to ask questions.

·       In contrast, the woman at the well, a Samaritan, an outsider, encountered Jesus and had an insightful conversation with him in the intense noon sunlight.

In our story today, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb in the dark. She was lost in grief and the distress of finding that the tomb had been tampered with.

She knew how the world worked. She knew how death worked. Lazarus had been raised from the dead, but he was an anomaly. And besides, Jesus wasn’t there to raise himself from the dead. That would be ridiculous! So, what she knew was that her teacher was dead, and his grave had been robbed.

After Peter and the other disciple Mary had alerted had found the tomb empty, they went home. They were still in the pre-dawn of not understanding. And Mary was alone again.

As she wept, she looked into the tomb and saw two divine messengers, but it still hadn’t really clicked. Then, she turned around and saw someone she assumed to be the gardener.

She wasn’t really wrong, though, was she?

God is a gardener.

God created the Garden of Eden and walked around it with Adam and Eve.

Every plant is a testament to the life found in God.

In my garden at home, I can prepare the soil, give it water, prune, and weed, and stake. But I don’t make the plants grow. Every new shoot and branch and bud, and yes, even the weeds, remind me of God’s creative work.

Jesus used a lot of plant imagery in his teachings.

·       The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed—a tiny thing that grows big enough to provide rest for birds.[1]

·       And “I am the vine; you are the branches.”[2]

·       And“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit.”[3]

Jesus planted the seeds of the Beloved Community throughout his ministry. He taught his disciples and all who listened to him about mercy and justice and inclusion and compassion.

Gardening is about caring for life. Gardeners learn to care for their plants, their land, and even care for other people by growing fruit and vegetables for them to enjoy.

Jesus’ ministry was also about caring for life. He taught us to love our neighbors, to seek justice for the oppressed, to care for each other’s physical needs. Jesus brought us life.

But on Good Friday, it seemed like the seeds of Jesus’ mission had died with him. Jesus’ message of compassion and mercy had sounded good, but it wasn’t enough to save him from the Romans, from being made an example of by the state. His disciples were understandably afraid of suffering the same death, so it didn’t seem likely that Jesus’ message would outlive him.

But, like the persistent weeds in my garden, Jesus wasn’t that easy to get rid of.God, the gardener, is all about life, abundant, extravagant life.

Jesus rose, alive, from the tomb, and his mission of abundant life for all flowered.

The garden he was buried in became a new Garden of Eden, and this story is a re-creation story. Just as Adam and Eve were face-to-face with God in the garden, Mary was face-to-face with the risen Jesus.

And when Mary heard her name, the fog of her grief vanished, and she recognized her living rabbi.

His mission was as alive as he was, and after he ascended, the Holy Spirit came and helped the seedling of the Beloved Community grow, bear fruit, and spread.

So, when Mary saw Jesus and thought was a gardener, she wasn’t wrong.

But, like Mary, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in our grief: our grief at the state of the world, our grief when it looks like death has won.

The violence we humans wreaked upon Jesus is not a thing of the past. Nor is hunger, disease, discrimination, or war.

Sometimes it feels like death has trampled the seedlings of the Beloved Community.

It’s tempting to give in to cynicism, disillusionment, and despair.

But that’s when God calls our name, and we recognize Jesus in an unassuming gardener, or a child waving, or an unhoused neighbor saying “good morning,” or a dear friend embracing us.

To paraphrase one of my favorite Lord of the Rings quotes, “There’s some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.” And I would add that it’s worth living for—and loving for.

Even when it seems like evil and death have the upper hand, our gardener God is on the side of life, and Jesus has already defeated death.

The harvest of the Beloved Community is not fully ripe yet, but it will be one day, and even now there are signs of it everywhere. Itsprouts in the most unlikely places, like an empty tomb.

That’s when a gardener calls our name and invites us to tell others about our joy.

Just as Jesus instructed Mary to go tell the other disciples that he was alive (making her the first preacher of the risen Jesus, I might add), Jesus invites us to share with others the sprouts of the Beloved Community we see.

As part of our yearlong Sabbath theme, we spent Lent practicing rest and trying on spiritual practices. I hope you’ve had the chance to slow down, even just the slightest bit, and notice God in your daily life.

If not, that’s okay. That’s why they’re called spiritual practices, not spiritual “perfects.”

It’s easier to noticesmall joys and delights, little signs of God’s presence, when we slow down.

This season,let’s continue doing those restful practices that help us notice God. And when you do, share your joy with someone else.

It doesn’t have to be a stranger—Mary told the other disciples, not people she didn’t know. But share your joy. Our world certainly needs more of it. With God’s help, that’s a way to cultivate the Beloved Community.

God, our abundant gardener, is calling your name. Let that joy take root in your heart, and share it with each other.

[1]Matthew 13:31–32, Mark 4:30–32, and Luke 13:18–19

[2][2] John 15:5

[3] John 12:24