The Garden of our Hearts. (adjunct to James 3.9-10)

My roses have already been hard-pruned, and are now leafing out, any danger of frost having passed . . . you see, California sport gardeners—those of us who garden for hobby and enjoyment—have gotten an early start this year.  We really have not experienced much cold weather, especially in Southern California.  Ha, the other day, I came in out of my backyard singing, ‘Feed the birds, feed the birds…who will feed the birds?  Feed the birds, tuppence a bag . . .’ after filling my birdfeeders, and tending to their little areas in my garden.  Dylan, my 16-year-old son, raised one eyebrow but said nothing as I passed him, but of course, I had to explain that the song was from Mary Poppins … ‘Oh, Dylan didn’t you ever hear that song?’  ‘Well, time to feed all the birds, dear boy,’ I chirpily said, and went on tending my fine-feathered friends’ habitat. 

Having purchased some pink and purple primroses and ornamental kales, I went back outside to make places for them in my garden.  But when I pointed the tip of my little shovel in the ground where I wanted to place them, I encountered dry, rocky soil; why, the earth was quite difficult to penetrate!  ‘Huh,’ I thought, ‘even if I get these little guys in the ground, will they grow here?’ 

Things just do not grow where the environment is hard, rocky or hostile even.  Sin causes a hostile environment; indeed, from the moment, Adam and Eve made their choice to do the one and only thing God instructed them not to do, the sin condition entered the world.  Their hearts were irrevocably changed, as they were now subject to decay, and also to hardness and callousness. 

Hardness of heart is like that rocky soil of mine, you know, though of course a hard heart is far worse than rocky ground!  Not surprisingly, Jesus referred to the heart quite a bit in the Gospels.  He could not abide hardness of heart; for instance, Mark records Jesus being grieved over hard hearts several times; hard hearts are not teachable hearts.  The callousness of the religious zealots and Pharisees infuriated Jesus; hard hearts are not compassionate toward others. 

Jesus was an ‘all or nothing’ kind of guy, just like his Father.  God wants us to surrender all of who we are to him; after all, he didn’t just give us half of Jesus, now did he?  When teachers of the Law tried to trip up Jesus, by backing him into a corner, he had a ready answer.  ‘So Rabbi… (teacher)  which one of the commandments do you say is the greatest?’  And you have to know the Shema to recognize the brilliance of Jesus’ response.  The Shema, out of Deuteronomy 6, was the oldest Jewish prayer, a declaration of faith, and belief in one God.  ‘Which one of the commandments is the greatest?’ they asked.  “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  Did you catch it?  We are to love God with ALL of our hearts. 

And so, as we begin to open our hearts and look inside . . . as we begin to ask ourselves this question: what would it take for me to have a healthy heart--one that is uncorrupted or hardened—like rocky soil?  The first order of business must surely be to surrender ourselves to God, to give ourselves wholly to him, and to his ways, so that he can lead and guide us, so that he can speak to us. 

“Dear Lord, I realize tonight that though I might control my tongue most times, my heart/mind are anything but pure.  I want to be wholly devoted to you.  Lead me.  Show me where I have allowed my heart to grow hard or calloused at the very least.  I might have the prettiest flowers in my garden, but I want to have a healthy heart that is growing toward you, for the garden of my heart, well, that is the most important one.  Amen!

Christine