Sermon John 20:15-16 Gardener and Teacher

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church

Memorial Service for Peggy Lewis

Sermon John 20:15-16 Gardener and Teacher

March 31, 2016 at 6:00pm

            Today we gather to remember a mother, a grandmother, a cousin, an aunt, a teacher, a gardener and a friend.  We are here to remember the life of Peggy Lewis who taught children in Pocomoke for 242 years, and served Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church faithfully for as long as she could as a teacher, deacon, elder and mentor for the pastor.  We will remember Peggy, but first let’s pray.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

            Last Sunday we celebrated Easter.  Easter is the time when we remember the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus had been executed on a cross and buried in a tomb.  And on the third day he rose from the dead.  This historical event comes with a promise.  All who put their faith in Jesus will, like him, rise from the dead to live eternally.  And we know, given Peggy’s great faith, that this promise applies to her.  She will, one day, be resurrected with new knees and new hips and no pain and ready to garden and teach to her heart’s content.  And, of course, for all of us who believe in Christ, we too will rise from the dead to join her.

            One of the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection was a woman named Mary.  Here is what happened when she met the resurrected Jesus.

John 20: ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

            So when Mary looked at Jesus she saw a gardener.  And when she heard his voice Jesus sounded like her teacher.  Let’s explore these two ideas:  God is a gardener and God is a teacher.

            It is certainly true that God is a gardener.  We read this in the second chapter of Genesis.

⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. 

So from the very beginning God was a gardener. 

            I can remember many times driving down Winter Quarters and turning into that cute house at number 340.  The front yard was always immaculate and flowers led you to the front door.  But the real treasure could be found by sitting on the back porch looking at the garden.  Peggy’s garden was filled with flowers that bloomed in season.  Birds were everywhere nesting in the trees and eating from the feeder.  Squirrels roamed freely.  It was a spiritual place just like Eden.  The Kingdom of God had certainly come near.  My wife and I would talk with Peggy on this porch or in her kitchen where, by the way,  she always had something good to eat.    Peggy was a master gardener.   Peggy gave me tips for getting things to grow around the manse.  And there is no doubt in my mind that Peggy and God are talking about gardening right now because Peggy and God share a love of gardening. 

God is a gardener.  God is also a teacher.  In the 36^th chapter of the book of Job we read:

²² “God is exalted in his power.
    Who is a teacher like him?
²³ Who has prescribed his ways for him,
    or said to him, ‘You have done wrong’?

So God is a teacher.

            Peggy Lewis taught children here in Pocomoke for decades.  She not only taught in the public school, she also taught many children right here at Pitts Creek Church.  I would sit on her porch and talk with her about the activities children and youth of this church did years ago.  We talked about how we could get children’s programs started here again.   Peggy continued teaching late into life.  Shortly after we moved to Pocomoke my wife started a new church.  She needed help with English.  So every Saturday Grace would visit Peggy with her sermon in hand.  Peggy would listen carefully and correct her pronunciation.  

            It seems that everyone in Pocomoke knew Peggy.  That’s what happens when you have taught for 42 years.   I would visit her in the hospital or nursing home after her surgeries.  And many times someone would stop in and say, “Hi Miss Lewis.  Do you remember me?  I was in you class.”  And she did remember. Is there any doubt in your minds that Peggy is in heaven today teaching the children who have died and gone to heaven?  I think she and God are reviewing lesson plans as we speak.

            There you have it.  Both God and Peggy are gardeners and both God and Peggy are teachers.  They are both in heaven today doing what they both love. 

            When Peggy arrived in heaven last week she searched for God. And the angels asked her:

Song of Solomon 6

1Where has your beloved gone,
    most beautiful of women?
Which way did your beloved turn,
    that we may look for him with you?

Peggy was searching for God, but then she found where God was hiding.

² My beloved has gone down to his garden,
    to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens
    and to gather lilies.
³ I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
    he browses among the lilies.

Peggy has found God, working in his garden in heaven.  And here we are, remembering this wonderful teacher and gardener and mother and hoping to rejoin her some day in her new garden in heaven. So keep Peggy in your memories.  Remember how she cared for you.  Remember what she taught you.  Remember her beautiful garden.  And be assured that she loved the Lord and is with him right now in his garden in heaven.  Let’s pray.

Dear God,

You are our Creator. You are the author of life.

Life is a precious gift.

We come today to commemorate and honor a life that is precious to us.

As we mourn this life that is no longer with us, we are aching from a void that has been created in our heart.

We lift up our sadness and grief to you. 

Lord, we ask that you would comfort us in our pain, and bring us an abundance of your gentle healing mercies.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen,  (Copyright © 2013 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com)