"The Garden Path"
Dear Church Family,
Sue and I don’t plant vegetable gardens, but we do plant flowers and trees, and each spring we look forward to what’s going in this year. As I was thinking about this, I realized how much of our faith story happens in gardens – Eden's innocence, Gethsemane's anguish, Easter's empty tomb turned blooming garden. Maybe that's why we feel such a deep connection to growing things, why gardens speak to our souls in ways buildings rarely do.
As we journey through those gardens (especially during Lent and Holy Week) we find that each holds its own lessons, its own invitations to deeper faith. In Eden's garden, we learn about trust and its breaking. In Gethsemane, we witness love's ultimate surrender: "Not my will, but yours be done." And in the resurrection garden, we discover how God transforms endings into beginnings.
The Easter story as told by John has Mary Magdalene arrive at the tomb in grief and mistake the risen Christ for a gardener. Perhaps that wasn't a mistake at all. Isn't Jesus the ultimate Gardener of our souls? Like any skilled gardener, He knows:
- Some things need pruning to encourage new growth
- The richest soil often contains composted pain
- Seeds must die to bring forth life
- Growth happens in darkness before light
- Patience is as essential as water
In this season, I invite you to walk your own garden path with Christ. Where in your life do you need the Gardener's touch? What needs pruning? What seeds of hope are waiting to sprout? What appears dead but might just be dormant?
Remember, Mary came to the garden grieving, certain that death had won. She left running with joy, having encountered Life itself. That's the promise of Easter – that God can transform any garden of grief into a garden of resurrection. The same power that rolled away the stone still works in our lives today, bringing life from death, hope from despair, joy from mourning.
As we move through these holy days together, let's pay attention to the gardens we pass through:
- Places of decision, like Gethsemane
- Places of grief, like the tomb
- Places of unexpected joy, like the resurrection garden
Each has its purpose, its season, its lesson to teach. And in each, the Gardener walks with us, tending our souls with infinite patience and care.
May this season find you open to growth, ready for pruning when needed, and always expectant for resurrection.
Walking the garden path with you,
Pastor Brian
Rev. Brian Lucas, Pastor | blucas@susumc.org
Be sure to check out this article in our full newsletter from March/April 2026 - Click Here!
