But briefly I want to reflect on the significance of gardens biblically and theologically. In 1995 I was appointed an Bishop of the Western Region of Melbourne with my base in the provincial city of Geelong. There was an attractive house there where my predecessor had lived. But the garden was in a mess and really depressing. There was a fine oak tree but the rest had been neglected during the vacancy and looked rather sad. At first I was downhearted having left a rambling garden with lots of charm. Then I thought to myself now is your opportunity to create a garden, to do something new. So I began to develop plans for a total reconstruction of the garden at the rear of the house. Working with a landscape contractor my design quickly took shape and I had the pleasure of planting my dream garden. Thanks to good seasons and a mild climate this garden grew quickly and be the second Spring was a riot of color. It was a most satisfying project and one that provided much enjoyment and relaxation. There is nothing like “gardening therapy”, good digging, weeding and composting, to get rid of the tensions and anxieties of life.

But alongside the creation and development of the garden I found myself reading more about gardens and reflecting on my garden theologically. One of my first discoveries was that the word for Paradise and the word for garden come from the same source. Paradise is a garden. And consequentially every garden has a little bit of paradise in it. Most commentators say that the paradise garden dates back to ancient Persia. We have all heard of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the ancient wonders of the world. That Persian tradition was taken up by Islam and gardens became part of that tradition. The best examples of these Islamic gardens are in India and in Spain. The best example of the former is the Taj Mahal in India built in the Mogul dynasty and of the latter are the gardens of the Alhambra fortress in Granada. I have visited the Alhambra and other examples of Moorish gardens in southern Spain. They are beautiful places with plants providing shade, perfumes and fruit, and always having a water feature of a fountain and pool. In the Islamic tradition also these gardens are symbols of paradise. And it was that tradition that influenced the Christian West and particularly w the cloistered monastery garden. We have great examples of these in the gardens at the Cloisters Museum. Each has its water feature and a range of plants and herbs. They are exquisite and delight the senses. And the influence goes on into domestic and public gardens. We are blessed with Madison Square Garden so close by which has all the features of a paradise garden. Undoubtedly Father Houghton knew what he was doing here at Transfiguration.

But this understanding led me further to reflect on the garden biblically. It may seem obvious to you but it struck me as a revelation to realize that the Bible starts and finishes with a garden. We all know that in the second Creation account God “planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flows out of Eden to water the garden.” And later we are told “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” High up in Canterbury Cathedral there is wonderful medieval window depicting Adam delving in the garden with a proper spade. And then in the Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible another garden appears in the vision of the new Jerusalem where these words occur: “ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright and crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” From garden to garden; from the Paradise of Eden which was lost to Paradise Regained through the Redemption brought about by God in Christ.

But there is one other garden allusion in the New Testament I want to draw your attention to. Some of you may remember that I was ordained bishop on the Feast of St Mary Magdalen. The gospel for the day which was read at my episcopal ordination was the passage about Mary Magdalen outside the tomb encountering the risen Lord and supposed him to be the gardener. Someone gave me a card at the time of this scene as depicted by Albrecht Durer. There is Jesus the supposed gardener with a gardener's broad brimmed hat and a large shovel over his shoulder. It was seeing that and remembering the Canterbury Cathedral window of Adam Delving that caused the penny to drop as they say. Here John alludes to the theme developed by Paul in First Corinthians that Jesus is the New Adam who reverses the Fall and all its consequences. In one sense Mary Magdalen was right. Jesus was a gardener, allbeit the new Adam. Jesus is the one who leads us back into our true home, that is Paradise Garden. In fact John is the only gospel to mention that Gethsemane was a garden and that Jesus was buried in a garden. The garden theme is not a chance coincidence but an intended theological allusion harking back to the Creation narrative in Genesis, linking Creation with Redemption. Redemption completes what was begun in Creation as it were.

In other words gardens are important both in reality as well as symbolically. In theological parlance they have a sacramental quality to them. They are outward signs of inward, spiritual grace.