[Sunday] Song of the Gardener - Resurrected Way.
Through song’s recreated breaths, John's resurrection narrative sings of a renewed creation, where the risen Jesus embodies a peace that transforms a world marred by anti-shalom.
Questions for the Week: Resurrected Way: Song of the Gardener
The sermon talked about the "song of creation." Can you think of a time recently when you felt a sense of joy or a new beginning, like a little burst of that song?
Read John 20:1-23. John's gospel draws strong connections between the resurrection and creation. How does understanding Jesus as the embodiment of God's presence, bringing "shalom," reshape our understanding of what the resurrection means?
Mary Magdalene mistook Jesus for the gardener, connecting him back to the Garden of Eden. Why do you think that image of a gardener is a powerful way to understand Jesus's role after the resurrection? How does it show God's care for us and the world?
Jesus breathed on his disciples, similar to how God breathed life into Adam. What do you think it means for us to receive that "breath" of the Holy Spirit today?
Virtually every life transforming event recorded in Scripture includes a journey, a process the people involved go through that leads to insight, transformation and new life for all willing to engage that journey. The journey always includes elements of sacrifice, worship, trust and faith. Christmas is about Jesus making the journey from heaven to earth, for the Magi it was the journey from wisdom to humility. For us, it is a journey to wonder and new life.