Scripture
Luke 23:39-43
We begin in Paradise – a garden
Where does our unique journey begin? In paradise. No pain or crying or mourning or
death.
PARADISE = a very beautiful,
pleasant, or peaceful place that seems to be perfect: a place that is perfect
for a particular activity or for a person who enjoys that activity: a state of
complete happiness. Paradise = (parádeisos παράδεισος, translating Hebrew gan
"garden" in reference to the Garden of Eden) is a religious term for a place in
which existence is positive, harmonious and eternal. The Abrahamic faiths associate paradise with the Garden of Eden, that is, the
perfect state of the world prior to the fall from
grace.
God’s View on Lawns & Gardens
GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and
nature, what in the world is going on down there in the U.S.? What in the world
happened to the dandelions, violets, thistles and the stuff I started eons ago?
I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of
soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long
lasting blossoms attract butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I
expected to see a vast garden of color by now. All I see are patches of green.
ST. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled
there, Lord. They are called the Suburbanites. They started calling your
flowers “weeds” and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with
grass.
GOD: Grass? But it is so boring, it’s not
colorful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, bees or birds, only grubs and sod
worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want
grass growing there?
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to
great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing
it and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.
GOD: The spring rains and the warm weather
probably make the grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites very
happy.
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as
it has grown a little, they cut it – sometimes two times a week.
GOD: They cut it? Do they bale it like hay?
ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly Lord. Most of them
rake it up and put it in bags.
GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they
sell it?
ST. FRANCIS: No sir, just the opposite. They
pay to throw it away.
GOD: Now let me get this straight: They fertilize
it to make it grow and when it does grow they cut if off and pay to throw it
away?
ST. FRANCIS: Yes, sir.
GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the
summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the
growth and saves them a lot of work.
ST. FRANCIS: You aren’t going to believe this
Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more
money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.
GOD: What nonsense! At least they kept some of
the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees
grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in summer. In the autumn
they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep the moisture in the
soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves become compost
to enhance the soil. It’s a natural cycle of life.
ST. FRANCIS: You’d better sit down, Lord. As
soon as the leaves fall, the Suburbanites rake them into great piles and pay to
have them hauled away.
GOD: No way!! What do they do to protect the
shrubs and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?
ST. FRANCIS: After throwing the leaves away
they go out and buy something called mulch. They haul it home and spread it
around in place of the leaves.
GOD: And where do they get this mulch?
ST. FRANCIS: They cut down the trees and grind
them up to make mulch.
GOD: Enough!! I don’t want to think about this
anymore. Saint Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have you
scheduled for us tonight?
ST. CATHERINE: “Dumb
and Dumber,” Lord. It’s a real stupid movie about . . .
GOD: Never mind – I
think Saint Francis just told me the whole story!
That is a
fun story – but the real story of God and the garden is recorded in the
beginning of the bible in Genesis.
Genesis 2:8 Now
the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the
man he had formed. Genesis 2:16-17 And
the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free
to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the
tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining
wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was
with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:23-24 So
the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which
he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of
the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to
guard the way to the tree of life.
God’s
original plan for our unique journey was to live with God forever in a
beautiful garden – in paradise. We
messed that up; – not God. We want to
blame God when bad things happen – we released the knowledge of good and evil
into the world – evil was unknown prior to that moment of disobedience.
We betrayed God’s one request in the garden.
In
a relatively short time in this garden the history of mankind was altered
forever.
Since
we messed up paradise, we should do something to make it right. Let’s just turn
around and go back – WAIT – we can’t flaming swords are blocking the
entrance. WE CANNOT GET BACK IN! There has to be another way. Let’s continue
our unique journey to another garden just outside Jerusalem – in fact,
overlooking the Kidron Valley in sight of Jerusalem. The garden’s name is Gethsemane.
Our journey continues in an Olive Tree Paradise – a
garden
The garden
of gethsemane
Gethsemane,
literally means “oil press,” A garden of ancient olive trees stands there to
this day. Jesus frequently went to Gethsemane with His disciples to pray. One of those times, after Jesus and His
disciples had celebrated the Passover, they came to the garden.
He
separated 3 from the rest then himself from the 3 of them. He asked them to
stay awake and pray with him – each time he checked in with them they were
sleeping in the garden. After he asked God to take away the cup of wrath, but
submitting to His will, Judas showed up with Roman soldiers to betray and
arrest him. The soldiers fell to the ground upon seeing Jesus until Judas
betrayed him, then Peter cut off the ear of one of the soldiers and Jesus
performed a miracle be reattaching it.
As he was taken out of the garden, the disciples scattered.
In a
relatively short time in this garden the history of mankind was altered
forever.
Our journey continues so close to Paradise – a garden
Within
a few hours after Jesus had been tried, convicted and sentenced to death, he
was taken to an awful place but very close to a beautiful garden of a wealthy
person with the same name as his own earthly father – Joseph who was from
Arimathea.
Matt
27:59-60 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it
in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. John 19:38-42 Joseph
of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of
Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he
came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who
earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in
strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the
place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden
a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day
of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
That
was Friday, but on Sunday, Jesus got up and after a brief conversation with
Mary, who thought he was the gardener, Jesus left that garden to return to
heaven – an eternal garden – the paradise of God.
In a
relatively short time in this garden the history of mankind was altered
forever.
Jesus
is God – but how can we get to the paradise God intended form the beginning.
Just before Jesus death, as he was hanging on the cross. There were two men
being crucified with Jesus. There unique journey’s involved becoming thieves
and too were sentenced to death. Luke
23:39-43 One of
the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you
fear God," he said, "since you are
under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our
deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
---------------Our unique journey ends the same place it began – in paradise – a garden – in this case – heaven – more importantly it begins and ends – with God.
Ephesians
4:4-6 “Of, Over, Through and In all”
There is one body and one Spirit—
just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Revelation
21:6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”
Revelation
22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and
the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
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