Mark 11:1-11 Beyond The Garden John 18-19:42

Jon Gilbert Martinez

Palm/Passion Sunday, March 25, 2018

The first real garden I remember appreciating was that of my

parents’. It was around the time that I was ten years old that I was

adopted and moved into my new home. A home that was surrounded by

various plants and flowers something that I had not had in my life until that

point.

My father had various flowers like roses and jasmines, along with

different bushes and trees. Every morning he would bring in flowers from

the garden and mainly the smell of the fresh-cut jasmine flowers is what is

still with me today.

I imagine some of you have had a garden at some point in your life,

that point could even be now. If you’ve never had a garden though, you

can probably imagine that it takes work to keep one up. Not only do you

need to think about how much sunlight the plants will get, but the food the

plants will get along with water. A gardener ends up being a caregiver,

protector, or guardian for such a space.

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 Any space that is occupied by a person or group of people needs

care, attention, and safeguarding. These places can be workplaces,

seminaries, federal buildings, churches, schools, etc. It is perhaps why

many of these buildings have some security officer and a caretaker. What

happens though when these folks aren’t able to perform their duties, or an

intrusion occurs?

Jesus and the disciples had such a sacred space themselves where

they met as that was where Judas knew to take the soldiers and chief

priests. The garden that they used as a safe and sacred space to come

together was Gethsemane. In today’s scripture of John, not only does

Jesus react and is on guard when the soldiers enter, he is quick to shield

his disciples from harm. He questions the soldiers as to why they are

there. They inform him that they are there to find Jesus of Nazareth, to

which he replies, “I am he.”

In declaring “I am he,” not only is Jesus revealing his divine presence

but is also trying to assert his authority. In today’s world and even then,

power, is something that can be taken to an extreme and dangerous level.

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Equally important is that Jesus didn’t take advantage of such authority

since we know he didn’t change the course of events.

On the other hand, Simon Peter reacts by grabbing a sword and

assaulting someone. Jesus’ immediate reaction is to command him to put

it down. Jesus isn’t looking to cause harm to anyone. Instead, he is trying

to protect and keep them safe.

Protection and safety is perhaps something that in our current social

climate we are not all feeling. Why are we not feeling safe and protected in

the spaces we occupy? I know that for myself, it is the reminder that every

week this year we have had at least one school shooting.

The chaos that embarks when such a tragedy happens can have

various effects on people. Students can have a fear of returning to school,

for example, a survivor in Florida’s school shooting made a pledge,

stating, “when I go back to school, I will wear sneakers to be able to run.”

Can you imagine making such a proclamation after having your garden

disrupted? This child has assessed their experience of having their garden

violated. Wearing sneakers is a form of their self-attempting to regain

some sense of security. Parents and guardians can begin to have anxieties

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dropping off their children at school, while teachers may seek a new line of

work or make efforts to retire. In the same fashion, some teachers will be

ready to get back and be among their students and co-workers as a way

to heal.

What are ways that you can think of healing after a garden or your

place of peace is disrupted? What would you want to do surviving such a

tragic event? Would you want to destroy the physical memory, restore it,

or memorialize it?

Now while we are taking a trip back to the past by thinking about

the passion story, let’s go back to late 2012 Newtown, Connecticut.

Students are in class, teachers are teaching, the office staff is working,

then, a man walks in, and chaos ensues. He begins to shoot and kill, killing

20 children and six teachers. We can only imagine how some parents,

siblings, relatives, friends, etc. felt as we did watching this hit national

headlines. Their babies were killed - any sense of security or sanctuary the

school once had was gone.

After all, was said and done, in 2016, the school reopened on the

same property but in a brand new building and away from the first

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building’s position. School administration said that the new building had

security second to none. The windows are now bulletproof, the interior

walls are reinforced, along with the doors being able to lock from the

inside and outside of the classroom. The administration also added that

while security was vital to the new building, they chose not to create a

memorial for the victims as they wanted to continue to the healing process

and found it to be inappropriate. Their new building was designed in such

a way to help foster healing and protection.

Even in the midst of being crucified Jesus offered one of the

criminals being crucified with him salvation. We can only guess that meant

restoration of security from the fear of not being able to enter into the

eternal garden. Jesus understood and knew what this man was searching

for even in his last moments.

In 1995 and 2001, our nation experienced significant terrorist acts,

like the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City and the

destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and flight

crash in Pennsylvania. In these cases, various decisions were made for the

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spaces and or buildings. The Pentagon was repaired, the Twin Towers

were replaced by a memorial as well as the federal building in Oklahoma.

There were not the only changes that came into play. Our federal

government made changes to protect their buildings by making sure that

vehicles are to stay at least 100 feet away, hence, reducing the risk of

truck bombs. Not only did a memorial get built but an attempt of restoring

the garden was made by installing physical barriers around the buildings.

It is not surprising that when I was a sophomore in high school, I,

too, had anxiety as a 12-year-old girl in my hometown was shot at her

middle school band hall restroom. The shooter was a boy who had asked

her out, and she had turned down. The school didn’t tear down the

restroom; instead, the named the band hall after her.

We as people, as Christians will find ways to cope with our loss of

family, friends, safety, sanctuary, etc. in various ways. In other words, we

must always be ready to see beyond the garden. What is beyond the

garden? If you are in a defensive stance, you are looking for threats to the

garden. Whether that threat is Judas coming with soldiers to arrest Jesus,

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a mole, gophers, snakes, plant diseases, too much sunlight and so on, we

as caretakers and gardeners must be ready.

We are not all the same and won’t always deal with every situation

the same. We are unique individuals and will handle tragedies within our

personal best capacity. There is not one concrete way of dealing with the

aftermath of having our gardens violated, torn down, or stomped on.

In the case of some of the parents who lost their child in the Sandy

Hook shooting, they became advocates against the lax regulations on

guns. To say nothing of the student advocates from Stoneman Douglas

High School shooting would be creating an injustice on my part. These

young folks have not only survived by walking away with their lives. They

have seen beyond the garden by keeping the light on the lives of their

friends.

They are speaking out against any politician who supports the NRA

or opposed to stronger gun control. They are marching our national

capital’s streets with loud voices and in huge numbers. They have inspired

even more folks to join them in getting loud, hoping, praying, and pushing

that their gardens, our gardens deserve more protection, more care.

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 The work of rebuilding Sandy Hook with doors that lock from both

sides was a sigh of relief for me. It is not because it’s a better safety

measure but because a few years back, I found myself working as a

paraprofessional and emergency operations planning person for an

elementary, among other duties. At that time, I recognized the limited

authority in seeing teachers having to step out of their classrooms to lock

the doors from the outside in the case of an emergency. The solution that I

felt was within my capability was telling teachers to keep their doors

locked at all times. In turn, providing a small level of security for each

teacher’s garden.

The gardens in our lives, like Gethsemane, are places of sanctuary

and security that can be violated. Nonetheless, we can find healing

through the memorializing, repairing, rebuilding, or any combination

thereof. What can we learn from Jesus in protecting our gardens, from

violations or healing them?

We can speak with authority, like Jesus did, “I am he.” Furthermore,

we must pay attention to the needs of others including a criminal’s

salvation. We can march on the streets voicing out loud the need for

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change to protect our gardens. Caring for the gardens of life is a

responsibility for all of us.

Amen.