John 19:41-42 A Third Garden

John 19:41-42 A Third Garden
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Comment - a third garden?

Only John tells us that Jesus was buried near the place of crucifixion, and that the tomb was in a garden.

Interesting. For it all began in a garden.
“And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (Genesis 2:8)

Along the way, there was another garden too.
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place; (John 18:1-2)

Now it all ends in a garden. For this garden is not just the garden of burial. It is the garden of resurrection, the beginning of the glorious birth of all creation into it’s destiny.

Garden to garden.
This is a miniature of our own life – our birth, our death … and some gardens of Gethsemane along the way.
We manage … with the help of God, the help of others, and some grit of our own.

This time of prayer, with the Lord present, is a garden that awaits me every day.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.
Source: Bishop Ken Untener – Little Books for Lenten meditation