In the Garden - Tim Knipp (John 19:41-20:18)

The garden abuts the cemetery
as spring shadows winter.

The tomb was in a garden
where Jesus was laid,
but only for a moment
did He rest there.
When despair came walking,
head down and heart dragging,
stunned and shattered
by the violence
of recent days,
the body was gone.
Mary saw angels
through swimming eyes
who questioned her,
then a Gardener flipped the switch
by speaking her name.

At the bottom of a stinking pit,
mired with disillusion
and fragmented hope
a light bloomed.

Early in the morning
when it was still dark,
in a garden graveyard
death imploded.
Creation energy
churned and stirred
atoms
bringing life to that
which had died.
Resurrection power.

"Why are you crying?"
the Gardener asks,
where have your hopes 
been buried?
What scars have lace-hardened
your heart?
"Who are you looking for?"
What do you long to believe?
What moments strike you
to the marrow
with aching Beauty?
What Truth do you yearn for?

Will you believe
the gaping maw of the tomb
is the strongest power?
Or will you heed the Gardener
whose Goodness
conquers death?

Will you recognize Him
when He speaks
your name?