IN A GARDEN

“While it was still dark Mary Magdalene had come to watch at the tomb, and she found Jesus whom she sought standing there in the flesh. But you must know Him now according to the spirit, not according to the flesh, and you can be sure of finding His spiritual presence if you seek Him with a desire like hers, and if He observes your persevering prayer. Say then to the Lord Jesus, with Mary’s love and longing: ‘My soul yearns for You in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks for You.'”

                       From an Easter sermon by Bl. Guerric of Igny

After the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene meets Jesus outside the tomb in the garden and mistakes Him for the gardener. How one asks can she mistake Him for another?  She who knew Him so well?  Anyone who has known real grief, can understand this.  Was she weeping so violently, that her tears blinded her? Was she in such a state that her mind was not functioning normally?  It is only when she hears His voice that she then recognizes Him.

 Of all places, one wonders why Jesus chose a garden to meet Mary. Was it to show us that He continues to daily nourish us with what has grown in the Garden? To remind us, that as the Gardener, He takes care if our every need, for without one to tend the garden, the plants will die? I am sure that even in His day, the gardens were not the lush green we so often associate with a garden. We know that even today, the Holy Land has palm trees, olive trees, figs, grapes, pomegranates- plants that love the sun and heat, but all plants that need tending in order to flourish. Flowers such as roses and lilies and poppies are mentioned and must have been in this garden, adding some lushness.

Art: Michael Cook- British