I love visiting gardens in the spring when the flowers are coming into bloom. Gardens in the spring serve as a visual reminder that the winter has come to an end and that new life has arrived. This visual sign in nature reflects the wider reality of God’s life giving and life sustaining power. It reminds us that the divine presence seeks to constantly recreate and remake all things anew within and around us.

The alternative New Testament reading that we have this Sunday, taken from John’s Gospel, occurs within the garden where Jesus body has been entombed.  John’s Gospel is unique in describing the location as a garden (John 19:41) and that description is subsequently followed by a distraught Mary mistaking the risen Christ as a gardener (John 20:15). In reflecting on this passage, I was reminded of another garden in scripture: the Garden of Eden. Whilst Adam’s actions in that garden lead to humanity’s sin and exile, Jesus’ rising from a garden tomb marks the defeat of sin and death, revealing God’s promise of new and eternal life in him.

John’s gospel does not state why Mary comes to the garden tomb early on the Sunday morning. In Mark’s Gospel the female disciples arrive early in order to anoint the body with spices (Mark 16:1-2) so this may have been the case in John’s account as well. In any case, Mary comes to the tomb as her act of loving devotion towards Jesus. She also comes to the tomb expecting death but instead finds the stone rolled away and Jesus body missing. When Mary comes to the tomb it is still dark.  This description is not just a time stamp but also reflects the state that Mary is in.
Mary Magdalene was walking in darkness, not just the physical darkness of the early morning but also in the emotional darkness of grief. Yet in that place of darkness Jesus comes alongside her and transforms her grief into rejoicing as she realises that her Lord and friend has risen from the dead.

Mary wishes to cling to Jesus in the garden but he instructs her to go that she might be able to tell others of the resurrection. Jesus’ commission to Mary gives her the title of apostle to the apostles, as she is the one who shares the first encounter with the risen Christ which signifies the defeat of death. For Mary, and for the rest of the disciples, it is a new beginning, which leads them to the next chapter in God’s story. In Jesus the promises of God have been fully realised: Sin and death have been overcome and that victory has been shared with us.

When we walk through a spring garden, we are reminded that what was once dead can be made alive again.  God brings new life to places that were formerly desolate.  This promise of new life is not just something that we can experience in our future but it can form our present reality as well.  Just like Mary, we too can encounter God in Christ and have our life transformed by him.  Jesus offers us an eternal place within the Kingdom yet he also offers his life renewing power in the here and now through the gift of the Holy Spirit. This Easter, as we see the beautiful signs of renewed life around us in nature, may we also see the sign of new life and new beginnings within ourselves, our churches, and our communities.  May we also like Mary share the good news of God’s re-creation and life renewing resurrection power with those around us, to bring the hope of God to others.