3 Two Gardens
Stand in front of the viburnum tree near the grave like a table
Garden 1
Just before he was arrested, Jesus went into Gethsemane Garden to pray – his friends were with him, but he went off on his own. Even though he had volunteered for his part in his Father God’s plan, he was still afraid of facing the painful, long-drawn-out death he knew awaited him, as anyone would be – as well as being God’s son, he was also human at the same time. He asked three times “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup of suffering pass me by; yet let it be not as I want, but as You want.” However, after asking, Jesus understands that God’s will is unchanged and accepts that he will die. Yet Jesus is God’s son whom He loves, and so his Loving Father sent him an angel to reassure and strengthen him’.
It’s reassuring to know even Jesus needed strengthening, faced with such a challenge, and helps us not to be afraid when we think we’re being pushed beyond our limit. We fret about things, trying to ignore them or put them off: Jesus prayed, asking directly for what he wanted. If we’re driven to pray as a last resort, we’re usually desperate and expect either no answer, or ignore an answer because it’s not what we wanted to hear. Jesus got an answer he didn’t want, but he accepted it, trusting it was what he had to do.
Do we look for that angel, bringing us God’s strength to do things we don’t want or think we can’t do – apologise, make things right or take on something hard to do or that will cost us time and effort because we don’t want the bother of it? God won’t ever ignore us or leave us without what we need, but He won’t force us either, just as He didn’t force Jesus to die for us. He will send us the inner determination to use if we accept His challenge.
Garden 2
The second garden is one where a secret follower of Jesus asked for his body, and put it in a tomb he’d had made.
Another follower, Mary Magdalene (whose church and garden this is) came to see where he was buried next morning; the stone used to close the tomb had been pushed away. ‘Mary stood outside the tomb crying as she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.’
Of course, the angels already know that Jesus is alive again. Mary (even though she sees two angels, and Jesus has said ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”) then completely fails to recognise Jesus when she sees him – she thinks he’s the gardener!
Was she so convinced that, although Jesus said he was the Resurrection and the Life, no-one comes back from the dead and his mission to get people to know how they could have eternal life with God had failed? Was she crying tears of grief and despair, feeling helpless and useless? Then he speaks to her, and she knows him instantly. And far from being a failure, she is the first person to see Jesus alive again and the first to tell everyone else!
Sometimes and by some measures we may seem to fail. But failure can actually teach us about strength and resilience, just like an angel, making us less afraid of it and more ambitious. Maybe you fear failure or have a problem that seems too difficult to tackle, or something that makes you feel rage or frustration or grief. Tie a white ribbon from the wallet at the bottom of the board to the tree, so that the end touches the ground, reminding you of the angels sent to help Jesus. Pray that God will send you also whatever you need.
