Returning to the Garden
Our gardens beckon to us. I spadded my small plot on Monday. Gerrit Scott Dawson writes of this annual voiceless call which beckons us. "I asked her one twilight, 'Why do you suppose this gloaming light makes me so sad?' Without hesitation she replied, 'Because of the time when God once walked the earth in the Garden with the man and the woman, and now no longer does.' And I knew that I longed for the days of the Garden. I, who so often avoid, even flee, the God who desires to come to me, actually yearn for a communion that has been lost."
In Genesis chapter 3 we are given a hint of an intimacy that once was commonplace, as we are told the story of how that intimacy was lost. God came in the evening, in the cool of the day, to walk in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. In the twilight described, however, Adam and Eve hid at the sound of God's approach. "Where are you?" asked the Lord God. The man replied, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Genesis 3:10).
Immediately we feel the loss.
In days closed to our view, the man and the woman lived in the garden free from the burden and heartache we have come to know. The garden was a cultivated place, separated from the wild earth by the ordered growth of what God planted. And the man and the woman were placed there to shape it further. They had creative, constructive work without burdensome toil. Moreover, the two were made to be together, and they shared open communion without shame. There was food for the taking from the trees that were pleasing to behold; there was no want of bounty or beauty.
A river ran through the garden, watering the ground so that all stayed lush, safe from drought and the withering sun. In the evenings God walked in the garden, and Adam and Eve spoke with God face to face. It is no wonder that the Greek translation of the word for garden is so similar to what we call paradise.
Such joy of life in the Garden is hinted at even as we hear of it passing away. The couple ate of the one forbidden tree, and so came the shame and the hiding, the fall and the curse. Death entered the world even as the Tree of Life was sealed away. The Garden was closed with the flaming sword and the cherubim guarding the entrance Now the ancient memory of the communion we had and lost echoes in every heart.
It is no wonder then that the final picture of God's intention and humanity harkens back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis. In Revelation chapters 21 and 22, John gives us his vision of the new heaven and the new earth. He saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven. At first, there seems no connection between a city and a garden, until we look more closely. A garden, as a city of Biblical times, is an enclosed place, bordered by a hedge of plants or a wall of stones. It has boundaries separating its carefully tended ground from the streets or wilds beyond it.
The new Jerusalem in John's vision descended as a walled city, distinguishing it from the chaos of the old world and its rebellion. The city, like the garden represents a fruitful habitation for God's people. As in Eden, a river runs through the city. Specifically, this is the river of the "the water of life." It flows down the great street of the city, and its source is the throne of God and of the Lamb. Overarching the river, on either side of it we see that the Tree of Life has been returned. The flaming sword is removed and now the leaves of the tree are for the healing of nations.
The intimacy of communion in the garden is restored. There will be no more sorrow in this city. No more tears wrenched by death. Once again God will walk among us directly. "God himself will be with them: and will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be be no more, for the first things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4).
The vision of a restored Zion in Isaiah 60 adds the image of peace governing the holy city. This will be a place of justice, where righteousness reigns in every heart, and every inhabitant enacts the values of the kingdom. Communion with God and community with one another will be the way of life in the garden city. What was lost so long ago will be restored, and more.
So the beginning and the end of the story of humanity is described in scripture in terms of a garden. The garden is a rich metaphor for the present life as well. My sermons for the next several weeks will explore the garden theme in Scripture and church history, beginning this Palm/Passion Sunday. We will look at Jesus' time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night he would be betrayed and arrested.
In Genesis chapter 3 we are given a hint of an intimacy that once was commonplace, as we are told the story of how that intimacy was lost. God came in the evening, in the cool of the day, to walk in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. In the twilight described, however, Adam and Eve hid at the sound of God's approach. "Where are you?" asked the Lord God. The man replied, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Genesis 3:10).
Immediately we feel the loss.
In days closed to our view, the man and the woman lived in the garden free from the burden and heartache we have come to know. The garden was a cultivated place, separated from the wild earth by the ordered growth of what God planted. And the man and the woman were placed there to shape it further. They had creative, constructive work without burdensome toil. Moreover, the two were made to be together, and they shared open communion without shame. There was food for the taking from the trees that were pleasing to behold; there was no want of bounty or beauty.
A river ran through the garden, watering the ground so that all stayed lush, safe from drought and the withering sun. In the evenings God walked in the garden, and Adam and Eve spoke with God face to face. It is no wonder that the Greek translation of the word for garden is so similar to what we call paradise.
Such joy of life in the Garden is hinted at even as we hear of it passing away. The couple ate of the one forbidden tree, and so came the shame and the hiding, the fall and the curse. Death entered the world even as the Tree of Life was sealed away. The Garden was closed with the flaming sword and the cherubim guarding the entrance Now the ancient memory of the communion we had and lost echoes in every heart.
It is no wonder then that the final picture of God's intention and humanity harkens back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis. In Revelation chapters 21 and 22, John gives us his vision of the new heaven and the new earth. He saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven. At first, there seems no connection between a city and a garden, until we look more closely. A garden, as a city of Biblical times, is an enclosed place, bordered by a hedge of plants or a wall of stones. It has boundaries separating its carefully tended ground from the streets or wilds beyond it.
The new Jerusalem in John's vision descended as a walled city, distinguishing it from the chaos of the old world and its rebellion. The city, like the garden represents a fruitful habitation for God's people. As in Eden, a river runs through the city. Specifically, this is the river of the "the water of life." It flows down the great street of the city, and its source is the throne of God and of the Lamb. Overarching the river, on either side of it we see that the Tree of Life has been returned. The flaming sword is removed and now the leaves of the tree are for the healing of nations.
The intimacy of communion in the garden is restored. There will be no more sorrow in this city. No more tears wrenched by death. Once again God will walk among us directly. "God himself will be with them: and will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be be no more, for the first things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4).
The vision of a restored Zion in Isaiah 60 adds the image of peace governing the holy city. This will be a place of justice, where righteousness reigns in every heart, and every inhabitant enacts the values of the kingdom. Communion with God and community with one another will be the way of life in the garden city. What was lost so long ago will be restored, and more.
So the beginning and the end of the story of humanity is described in scripture in terms of a garden. The garden is a rich metaphor for the present life as well. My sermons for the next several weeks will explore the garden theme in Scripture and church history, beginning this Palm/Passion Sunday. We will look at Jesus' time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night he would be betrayed and arrested.
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