Humans were created to work beside God in the Garden, to tend the plants and care for the animals that God has made and to which God has appointed us as stewards (not Kings and Queens).

Easter places us back in the Garden – just like the apostles, Peter, John and Mary were on Easter Morning. (Kind of a little heavy handed on the author’s part don’t you think… but I guess we’re supposed to notice it. Heh.

They were given the task of proclaiming the news of God’s victory over the forces of rebellion, forces that we have previously acted alongside of, and now are given the chance to undo the damage caused by that error.

We can do that by keeping Jesus’ commandment: Love one another just as I have loved you. That work, loving one another as Christ loved us on the Cross, as Christ came to us and did the work of reconciliation for us (as we were not able to do it ourselves)… doing that work for our neighbors, and most importantly for our enemies is what it is to work beside God in the Garden today.

Training, feeding and redirecting – not cutting down. Like the tree that has not been fruitful – not destroyed but given what it lacked so that it can do what it was created to do. So that it can become what it was created to become.

You can access the sermon directly by using this link.