Greeks, Glory and Gardening

Truly, truly , I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

I wonder what the Greeks who wished to see Jesus wanted to ask Him. (John 12:20-21) Was there a weighty spiritual question they wanted explained? Or did they just want to be able to say they met Jesus? Scholars say that these Greeks represent the Gentiles – the non-Jewish “rest of the world” whom Jesus would draw to Himself. At this point in time, crowds were flocking to see Jesus. He had just been celebrated as king in a processional into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches, made a “red carpet” with their cloaks, and shouted “Hosanna!” (John 12:12-18)

Jesus appeared to be at the apex of His career. In such a position, our human tendency would be to bask in the attention. But Jesus remained humble and focused on what was about to happen: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:23) Jesus was going to die on a cross to remove the penalty of our sins and then be resurrected, bringing victory over death and new life and hope to all who believe. “We do see Jesus…crowned now by God with glory and honor because He suffered death for us. Yes, because of God’s great kindness, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the world. And it was right and proper that God, who made everything for His own glory, should allow Jesus to suffer, for in doing this He was bringing vast multitudes of God’s people to heaven…” (Hebrews 2:9-10 The Living Bible)

Jesus gave a word picture of this idea of glorification: “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24) Jesus was the grain that would die and the fruit is the new life of those who believe (including the non-Jewish Greeks). The death of one – Jesus - brings life to a multitude of others. Jesus told the crowd, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32)

Was Jesus scared about being “lifted up” on the cross? Absolutely! The other gospels give details of the agony Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Mark 14:32-36) The height of Jesus’ life was not when he rode the donkey into Jerusalem. It was when he suffered and was lifted up on the cross. In his darkest hour, Jesus kept in mind His purpose: to glorify God. “But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:27b-28a) God answered in verse 28, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

As we move toward Good Friday (when Jesus’ crucifixion is observed), think about Jesus’ being lifted up to draw all to Himself and to glorify God.

Jesus said “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” John 13:31

Now let’s think about the grain falling into the earth. If you love to garden, before picking up your tools or trays of flowers, let’s talk about some ways to prepare your body for the job. When you go outside, walk around your yard for a few minutes to get your circulation going and warm up your muscles and joints. Do some shoulder rolls and then swing your arms to the front and back (as though you were clapping your hands way out in front of you and then behind you).

Stand tall and twist to the right and to the left. Next, bend and straighten one knee, then the other, and do some squats. Place your feet wide apart and shift your weight first onto one leg, then the other. In warming up you are rehearsing the moves you will be doing when you garden. If you have any pain when doing any of these motions, stop! Always check with your doctor if you are unsure about any particular activity.

Gardening requires a lot of up and down motion, which means doing a lot of squats! You will also do squats when you are lifting pots, bags of potting soil, etc. (You may review the previous blog posting on how to do a squat properly by clicking here.) The important precautions to remember when you squat are to keep your knees behind your toes and to keep your hips higher than your knees.

When you are lifting a heavy object, keep your navel pulled inward toward your spine to help support your back. Let your legs, hips and abdominals do some of the work when you are doing heavy lifting.

Pulling weeds and planting can be done in a wide lunge position, as shown in the photo. Again, keep your knees behind your toes! With your feet far apart, you can shift your weight from one leg to the other as you work in a wide area. When you rise up from this position, you are doing a squat but with a wide stance. Be sure to keep your knees and toes on each leg pointed in the same direction. You do not want to plant your foot (No pun intended!) and then twist your leg! This could cause injury to your knee.

The wide stance also applies when raking or digging. Have one foot out to the front and one foot in back and shift your weight between your feet as you rake and move along the area you are working.

It is important to keep your spine long, not curling up, since this brings on low-back pain.

Thankfully there are many accessories that make gardening more comfortable: from knee pads to benches, and raised garden boxes to allow you to get close to the soil. If you are sitting on a low bench, try bending over at the hips, not curling your spine. (Click here to review the forward fold.) Again, the idea is to protect your back.

Take a break every now and then and straighten up or walk around. When you are finished, stretch. Move your arms to the front and round your shoulders forward, then make your arms wide and squeeze your shoulder blades toward each other. To stretch your shoulder, bring one arm across the front of your body and hold.

Repeat with the other arm. If your legs can feel the work you’ve done, you can do some quad stretches, found here. You may also want to lie on your back and gently draw one knee in toward you and hold for a low back stretch. Repeat with the other knee.

Gardening is an example of how the Length and Strength exercises carry over to daily life. Taking the time to do some warm-ups and stretches, and following these precautions should make your gardening hobby and yard chores safe and more enjoyable.

Photo credits: public-domain-image.com, realsimple.com