Luke 12: Funeral Message for Karl Das - 8/6/26 Calling someone a gardener can sound small, but it isn’t. Being a gardener is the highest calling. God is the first and ultimate Gardener. We read in Genesis that God created the world and began human life in a garden. The garden represents life as it should be, someone caring for humanity’s environment. God passed this responsibility on to men and women.
Being a gardener can be small, if the gardener has a small mindset. If he sees his job as just a series of chores to make money, that’s small. If he sees his job as more than a paycheck but a vocation, that’s big. This is true of any job. The cashier who believes they are God’s representative will be an amazing cashier. The gardener who is imitating God as caretaker of the world is an amazing blessing.
Karl Das could proudly use the term gardener. Of course, he was more than that. He took care of multiple campuses for the Clayton school district. That’s a complicated, demanding job. That job required Karl to bring order out of chaos. It’s a never-ending responsibility, facilities age, weeds grow, paint fades. But Karl’s efforts made education a brighter experience. Even after his “retirement” last year, he couldn’t stop landscaping. When he was in the hospital, he fretted to Jean about the houses he needed to mow.
In the Bible, God creates a garden, but man ruins it. The rest of the Old Testament is God speaking to his chosen people about fixing it. He pleads with them to take care of the land and each other. God uses the image of the earth as a garden or vineyard repeatedly. God’s figurative vineyard had everything it needed, lush vines and branches, a protective wall, a winepress, and a tower for oversight. All his people needed to do was maintain this wonderful gift. They didn’t. Through abuse and neglect God’s people were ruined. God’s appointed gardeners failed.
The Father sent Jesus. He’s described as both vine and vine dresser. His people have life only through him, the vine. But he also daily preserves and maintains the lives of his followers, like a vine dresser. Not only does Jesus maintain the vegetation like lilies in the field, not only does he care for the birds of the air, but through faith he nourishes every soul connected to Him.
There is something to be said for the fact that our profession or vocation shapes us. As a gardener, Karl felt what God feels. When God finished creating the garden, He said, “It is good.” How often did Karl complete a project and say to himself, “It is good.” I once talked to Karl about trimming the hedges at church. He said, “If I trim the hedges, I don’t want anyone else to trim them.” He wanted the responsibility, but I suspect also the joy of a job well done.
Maybe you’re like me and you don’t get to see the results of physical labor. Pastors, teachers, and others service the mind or the soul. We hope we’ve left the person better off, but only God knows. Karl got to see a physical resurrection of a playground, a building or a landscape. He knew that God had used him to make the world a better place. He knew, “It was good.” That had to influence his faith. He followed God’s footsteps. His hands and feet mimicked God’s.
Losing Karl is hard. He went from his usual active self, to hospitalized, to death in a matter of days. We don’t have to worry about Karl. He’s with the Gardener, awaiting paradise, the new heaven and new earth. In fact, paradise, in the Bible, is often depicted as hanging gardens. Not getting to say goodbye is tough. Jean, Garrett and Gavin got to say goodbye to Grandpa Hank and Grandma Joan. You were given a gift of knowing the end was near and saying everything you wanted to say. Karl’s death was a different kind of gift. It was a gift to him that he didn’t have to suffer or live a diminished life.
You can still say goodbyes. I don’t know if Karl can hear us, but I know Jesus can. Share all your grief with Jesus. He takes care of the whole world, and he will continue to take care of you. That’s what Jesus does. By Grace through Faith. Amen. |
