Even now, some of the Old Testament stories remain ingrained
in our collective consciousness, and biblical literary references abound. Such
would have been much more the case for Jesus’ audience and, perhaps even more
critically, for the target audiences of the gospel writers. References to
defining moments, events and stories from the Old Testament are numerous in the
New Testament and perhaps references to gardens are always meant to recall that
first biblical garden, Eden.
My theological wanderings have taken me out of the Garden of
Eden and into some other biblical gardens, reflecting on possible parallels
between these and the Garden of Eden. Around the time of Jesus passion and
resurrection, gardens are the setting for key moments: the garden of
Gethsemane, scene of the betrayal and arrest; and the garden where the tomb is
located and the first resurrection scenes are enacted.
One of the (many) bible verses I have sometimes struggled
with is the one in which, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples “if you
have no sword, sell your cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:36). In the midst of a
Gospel which, to my mind, preaches a consistently non-violent message this verse
has always struck me as something of an anomaly. Furthermore, what is the
significance of Jesus responding “that is enough” when the disciples present
two swords, and why, having expressly asked them to acquire swords does Jesus,
at the moment of his arrest, tell the disciples to put down the very weapons he
himself instructed them to carry?
Reflecting on these verses in the light of the Genesis story
has helped me to come up with a possible explanation about what is going on in
this story ... but you might have to bear with me while I try to put my current
thoughts into some sort of fairly coherent form.
When the Garden of Eden is created and humanity is placed
within it, the tree at the very centre of the garden is the Tree of Life.
Access to the tree of life is not limited but Adam and Eve do not choose to eat
of its fruit. Later, as Adam and Eve are sent out of the garden, “he posted the
great winged creatures and the fiery, flashing sword to guard the way to the
tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24) At their departure from the garden, swords bar
the way to fullness of life; perhaps because in adulthood we find it hard to
accept the fullness of life, the world of freedom and possibility, that as
children we take for granted. Perhaps the swords are our own limitations,
fears, distractions and preoccupations that bar our way to living life in all
its fullness, that prevent us from living eternal life as an everyday reality.
In the garden of Gethsemane, we are back inside the garden,
and once again, there are swords. Just as God instructed the tree of life to be
guarded by swords, it is Jesus, God, who instructs the disciples to bring
swords with them to the garden. Perhaps the events in the Gethsemane Garden are
a re-enactment and reversal of the tree of life narrative we see when Adam and
Eve leave the Garden of Eden.
If the disciples have brought swords with them to the Garden
of Gethsemane it is, undoubtedly, with the intention of protecting Jesus, of
guarding the way to him, which in the parallel with the Genesis story puts
Jesus in the place of the tree of life. At least for me, there is no great leap
of imagination to locate the Jesus who has “come that you may have life in all
its fullness” (john 10:10) and has also identified himself as “I am the vine and
you are the branches” (John 15:5) in the place of the Tree of Life.
The disciples have to bring swords, not because Jesus is
going to condone any act of violence, but because this is the moment when the
swords guarding the Tree of Life are going to be put down, and the way to
fullness of life is reopened. Perhaps this is also what the slightly strange
verse in Mark’s gospel “A young man followed with nothing on but a linen cloth.
They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth and ran away naked” (Mark 14:
51-52): could this be the guard from the tree of life running away and leaving
the route open? Jesus’ instruction to “put down your swords” which appears in
all four gospels, is not just a reaffirmation of his non-violent credentials,
but is also a renewal of the unlimited access to the Tree of Life, offering the
gift of life in all its fullness.
And who were the first to gain access to the tree of life? The
reactions to this reopening of the way to fullness of life appear to be
two-fold.
Judas, with his kiss of death, and the soldiers who dragged
Jesus away respond with violence and hatred. Just as in the Genesis story the
tree of life was accessible to Adam and Eve, symbolic of the whole of humanity,
Jesus reaffirms that life in all its fullness, access to the tree of life is
open to all, even those who will choose to abuse its vulnerability. But many
are they who offered a world of possibility will act in aggressive
confrontation rather than reach out and eat a fruit which they feel unworthy to
taste.
Meanwhile, the others present, the disciples, all run away
in fear: afraid of the violence of the soldiers, or filled with fear at the
potential and possibility of this unlimited access to fullness of life? In
putting down the swords which guard the way, Jesus reaffirms that life in all
its fullness is within our reach. But many are they who dare not risk the small
sacrifices required even when they have glimpsed the rewards.
And what about us? Do we run away in fear when we glimpse
what life in all its fullness might be like? Do we criticize, ridicule and
condemn those who have fullness of life because our fears and anger won’t allow
us to eat of its fruit? Or do we reach out, tentatively, and taste the fruit
that will allow us to live free, fulfilled and happy?
We are challenged by the gospel to put down the swords we
hold in clenched fists which are barring the way for both ourselves and others.
We are challenged to approach the tree of life and eat freely of its fruit.
So how do we ensure we
are eating of its fruit, how do we taste and see that it is good, how do we eat
our fill and live life to the full? And how do we ensure we are offering its
fruits to others? How do we encourage and invite those who gaze from a fearful
distance or those who turn their heads in shame or anger to approach?
More questions than answers, but I am sure it is a path we
should all be treading together.
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