The Gardener From Gethsemane

The invasion had begun . From the hills , soldiers descended into the villages without warning , rounding up any rebels for execution . Anyone who opposed the Roman forces were arrested and placed in chains then paraded through streets until crosses were made for their crucifixion .
The Roman empire was growing and their mission was to rule the world .

Pressure and perseverance from a small but elite group of rebels continued to gain strength . This underground movement continued to harass , hinder and hurt all those who served Rome .
The invasion forces were always on the look out for information that would uncover a plot or any attempt to destroy their mission .
The rebels were very resilient and their passion outweighed the well trained Roman soldiers . They never had control over the people .The struggle for freedom was always there . No one was content with the way things were .
There had been a long list of dead heroes who had tried in vain to change the situation by taking on the might of the roman army . Frustrated and helpless where the people who were being forced into obedience . The local people had various ways of coping , for instance there was peaceful man by the name of James who had seen his family put to death by roman soldiers . James had never sought revenge for their killings but instead turned to God prayed everyday for help in the depths of despair . On the roof of his home he spent most of his evenings at prayer and from up there he could see the thick black smoke of the burning crosses from the hills . The sight of this smoke was a visual warning for anyone who would consider joining the rebellion against Rome .

James was a holy man and trusted that God would bring an end to the suffering and prayed everyday for peace and a solution to come .
One evening as the smell of burning crossed drifted by in the air he heard God speak to him . The voice that spoke to James brought a message of hope and instructed him to begin a work project .

“A saviour will come saviour . Make a place where he can pray .“

Were the words spoken to James .
He wanted to share that with everyone but he knew they would think he was mad so instead he kept this communication to himself .
James had thought about what was asked of him and how he could build a place of prayer for the saviour to come .
He drew plans for a building with a high tower . He also had an idea of an underground chamber with a series of tunnels reaching the gates of the village walls , but it was one night in a dream that God inspired the work that had to be completed .
The place of prayer was to be a garden built from the rocks of a barren place
in Gethsemane .
So upon the same soil that prisoners where being executed James began his project . There was a ready made path from the palace walls to the smoking hills . The path had been pounded out by the daily procession of prisoners on their way for crucifixion . This path was the method he would use for transporting his materials from the market to the site he had chosen to build the garden . The first job at hand was to ask permission from the council to begin this project . Because James was a good man and also the fact that his Father had been a member of council before his death saw the proposed development passed without a hitch .
When the work commenced the garden of Gethsemane had the interest and support from local people . Each day carts of rocks and rubble were removed and soon carts with fertile soil were brought from the fields beyond .
Each day as crosses burnt a new message was visible .
The local people could not conquer Rome but James could see the beauty of creation start to take shape in the garden . He worked hard and slaved from dawn to dusk on the ground . He built a well that would be an invaluable for all the plants and trees in the garden . He placed a prayer around every hole he dug and with every seed that was thrown . He constantly thought of the saviour that would come to free his people . Half way through the project some of the rebel leaders ad spread the word of a powerful man who would strike fear into the heart of Rome . This new hero was to become a rebel leader who would tear down the establishment and rebuild again what had been lost .
In the ranks of the rebellion hope and confidence was growing . People began to listen to the rumours and wait for this warrior to arrive .
James continued to work away in the garden .

Now and then his effort were rewarded .
Providence had been bestowed in the garden many times.
There were the very large rocks that had been taken from the nearby quarry
for placement behind the palace walls , but a few of them had accidentally fallen off the carts that had carried them and the large rocks had rolled and found a landing spot inside the garden at Gethsemane . The task of retrieving the rocks was too difficult so they were left there by the builders who had obtained them . James was never trained how to do stone work and knew nothing about sculpting , but as soon as he put a chisel to the stone , he knew what he had to do . Statues and images of birds and animals had been created from the stone and placed around the garden in spots that seemed to accommodate them .
Some birds brought seeds and they were wildly sewn around the garden .
Sight and sound became more natural with small ponds and water features around the paved pathways . The garden was taking its own course as each day brought new surprises . Once or twice some of the Roman soldiers brought small olive trees and left them in the garden for planting .

When James got tired God gave him strength to do what he had to do .
When he cut his hand or was injured his wounds would always heal very quickly . people from the village would bring James food and drink as he worked . People began to admire the work being down . Every day a donation of a tree or a plant would arrive from unknown sources . there were many people who offered help with no payment . Merchants who passed by often brought flowers and bushes from oasis areas . What once was a rocky ground was now an exotic garden in Gethsemane .

Prisoners on their way to be executed now had some beautiful to look at .
A little glimpse of heaven . After eight years the garden was complete .

James went up to the roof of his house and thanked God for helping him to finish the work . Suddenly that very night there was a knock upon his door .
Standing there was one of the villagers who informed James about this man who had just been arrested in the garden and taken into custody by some soldiers .
James rushed straight away to the garden to discover a crowd had gathered there . They were all talking about this man called Jesus .
James had never heard of this person and wondered if he had done something wrong . He walked around the garden but found no damage ad been done . No one could give him any further information about the events that occurred that evening . So he retired to his home and hoped to hear more in the morning .

That night James went into a very deep sleep .He had a dream and in the dream he was walking through a very large garden that had every kind of fruit tree you could think of . There were flowers and bushes he had never seen before .

As he walked among the trees he was met by someone who was clothed in a bright white garment . James was unable to see the face of this person because his face was so radiant it blinded his sight .

The person spoke to James and told him of a world where there was no pain or suffering . He took James down along a path through the garden and across a bridge to the edge of a mountain . The person told James of his kingdom where soon he would have to return . At this James awoke from his dream .

A few days later a large crowd of people had lined both sides of the road to watch a certain man who was being led away fro crucifixion . James was intrigued and pushed his way through the crowd to see who it was .
He saw a group of women crying and one of them wnet over and wiped the dirt from this mans face . James was amazed when the man walked past and smiled at him and said ,
“James , no garden was ever more beautiful .”

Something stirred inside James . He followed the procession all the way to Calvary hill and stood watching as the soldiers nailed this man to a wooden cross . Later that day when the man on the cross had died James knew that this was no ordinary man but that this man was indeed the saviour who had come into the world .

The End

By Paul McCann