The Spiritual Garden

How many of you find God's peace being in nature, among trees, plants and gardens? Or in gardening? 

Yes, there is just something about plants! 

And I think it is no coincidence that the Bible is full of references and stories about plants and planting.   Can you think of a few? 

Right up in the very front, in the book of Genesis we have;  "The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good." Gen 1:12

And then there is that famous garden, the Garden of Eden.  "Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden... "  Gen 2:9

And there is also the Garden of Gethsemane.   Which, by the way is actually an olive orchard!

Stories and metaphors about plants & planting abound; crops, pruning, planting, harvesting & plucking up, even bushes that burn!   And then there are the parables...

The "parable of the sower" comes to mind.   You know, the story where a sower goes to sow seeds and some land on rocky soil and other not so good places. Plants sprout up, but they soon die due to not being able to grow well in shallow, rocky soil.  

The lesson, conditions of soil affect growth.  Literally, metaphorically...and spiritually.

Yes, plants have been particularly on my mind lately.  You see, for many years I had a beautiful, mature tree in the center of my backyard.  And my tree was a magnificent tree.   It was the focal point and shaded my entire backyard.    It had such "presence"!  

It was a tree that does not ordinarily grow in the desert.  But where I live in Phoenix, we have flood irrigation, so many of the houses in my area have huge, mature trees.   

But alas, this past year, my magnificent tree started to have trouble.  Its huge branches began to droop, and many branches began drop off.   Obviously, there was something seriously wrong with my tree.   I tried to save the tree, called the experts, arborists and tried many things, but nothing seemed to help.   Over the year, more and more branches kept coming down.   My poor tree... was dying. 

And last month, I finally had to have the tree cut down & removed.   Watching it being cut down was just heartbreaking.    The tree that was the center, the focal point of my entire backyard... is gone.  Sigh.  Now my backyard seems so... without focus...so empty...it does not even look or feel like my backyard anymore...

I know, it may sound strange, to grieve the loss of a plant.  But plants are alive.  They have a mysterious presence that we all can feel.  Remember "The Secret Lives of Plants"!

My first thought was to plant a new tree.  And right away as my backyard was so empty. Replace it with another tree that would provide nice shade, presence and greenery.

But wait.  That was the feeling I had.  It said, "wait".  And so I listened.

Why did my tree die?   Was it old age?  Did the tree have a disease?  Did pests or parasites attack it?  Or was something not right with the soil?   Perhaps it was time to thoroughly investigate this before replanting. 

Now, some of you may be wondering what my "tree story" has to do with the Gospel reading for today or the fact it is the second Sunday of Advent?    Well, I will tell you...it has everything to do with it!

For those of you that have been involved with gardening and planting, you know that preparation, specifically preparation of the soil is a big part of growing healthy plants & trees.  

Gardens are a wonderful spiritual metaphor & can have a multitude of meanings.    

What can gardens represent metaphorically & spiritually?     [Our hearts, life...transformation...]

And in today's gospel reading we have John the Baptist saying "Prepare the way of the Lord!   The voice of the one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord!...". 

Now, this passage has usually been interpreted as being that John the Baptist "prepared" the way for the ministry of Jesus. 

But what if we looked at this passage thru the lens of a gardening metaphor?

Every year we have the cycle of seasons; here we are about to go into winter.  We have the church seasons, and once again here we are in Advent.  Advent is a time of preparation, we prepare for the coming of the Lord.  To receive the Lord... in our hearts! 

As for my tree, after checking the soil in my yard, I found that indeed there was / is something wrong with my soil.  So for the next year or so, I will be preparing the soil and getting it ready.   And when I do plant a new tree, the soil will be healthy, conducive to new life and growing a new, healthy tree!

Prepare the way of the Lord.  

So, in contemplating this, I ask you, does your heart, your "spiritual garden" perhaps need some tending?

Hanging on to old anger?  Maybe your spiritual garden needs "weeding". 

Unenthused with life lately?  Stuck in a rut?   Maybe your spiritual garden needs some "spiritual" mulch or fertilizer!!

Feeling drained or a lack of energy?   Perhaps your spiritual garden may have some "spiritual parasites" that need to be removed.

How, or in what ways does your spiritual garden need to be tended?

Let us think and pray on this.

And this holy season of Advent, let us all tend our spiritual gardens...and 'Prepare the way of the Lord'!   

Amen.

[Sermon given on DEC 6, 2015 at St Thomas Episcopal Church, Clarkdale, AZ]