January 26, 2023
“…….She thought He was the gardener”
- John 20:15
It was around 12:30pm on February 22, 2011. Ann Brower, an American who immigrated to New Zealand, boarded the number 702 Red Bus from a Christchurch suburb for her commute to work downtown. There were 8 other commuters on board. The day was cool with a slight overcast and a breeze blowing from the South. The ride was only a 20 minute commute. It was an ordinary Tuesday day.
Ann never made it to work.
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We are in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the largest city on the South island and the second largest in the country, The population here is close to 400,000.
The area was first settled by indeginous people around 1100 AD. These inhabitants hunted the Moa, a huge Ostrich like flightless bird.
It would lead to the extinction of the species.
The British arrived around 1840. First to come were whalers. Later, pilgrims of the Canterbury church, an Anglican denomination, who wished to build a city centered around a cathedral and a University, arrived.
Christchurch was in every way a planned ‘English’ community. It was built around a classic Victorian grid style with gothic revival archetecture dominating the buildings. The area around the college resembles Cambridge University on a smaller scale.
Visiting today you can see examples of this planning from its easy to navigate layout to street trollies that will transport you around the city center efficiently.
The weather has continued to be kind to us with mild to warm tempetures and partly cloudy skies. It was pleasent to walk around and explore the downtown area.
In recent history this area has suffered much. In a very real sense, walking around downtown is like walking around Ground Zero at the World Trade Center. Don’t get me wrong, life has gone on here, as it always does, but the scars of the damage are plain to see. Construction and rebuilding sites are frequent. Signs posting events that occurred at that spot are everywhere.
On March 15, 2019 a white supremacist walked into two different Mosques here and gunned down 51 peaceful worshipers. Over 40 more were seriously injured with life long traumas to endure.
In America we have become numb to this ongoing horror. Good Lord we have had 39 mass shootings since January 1st alone! More than 60 have died in the first 3 weeks of 2023! It is a stain on this country. No other country in the world admires us for our “freedom” to slaughter each other wholesale.
Recently a man in Atlanta Georgia walked into a supermarket in Atlanta Georgia. He was dressed in full tactical gear and carrying the arsenal below "for his 'right' to protect himself". He was let go because, despite the absurd firepower he was carrying, it was legal to do so.
We are insane.
But, here in New Zealand. the killing was an appalling crime that the entire country rose up in mass to condemn the action and the hateful ideology that spawned it. Their leaders took significant steps to help prevent such violence in the future. And it has worked so far.
In the early hours of September 4, 2010, Christchurch experienced an earthquake of 7.1 magnitude. Although there was damage to the city fortunately there was only 1 loss of life due to a heart attack from the anxiety. There were hundreds of aftershocks and the city remained on edge for some time.
By the summer of 2011 anxieties had calmed down and, for the most part, things had returned to normal. But it was not to last.
It was lunch time on February 22, 2011. Foot traffic downtown was at a peak. The 702 Red Bus carrying Ann Bowers turned on Columbo Street downtown at 12:51 pm.
At that moment a violent earthquake far worse than any of the aftershocks proceeding it shook the earth beneath them. The violent surges ripped through the downtown like a dog shaking a favorite toy. It was as if Odin himself slammed the Earth with unspeakable fury.
The aftershock only measured 6.3 on the Richter Scale but was centered much closer to downtown and was not as deep in the earth.
And it only lasted 10 seconds.
A third of the buildings in downtown were destroyed. Masonary rained down on the people below. The CCTV building, near the Avon river pancaked and caught fire. Over 100 died. In the suburbs, pipes ruptured and streets cracked open flooding the city for miles.
Ann Brower’s bus was crushed like tin foil when a wall of bricks fell on it. Ann was knocked unconcious. She awoke to strangers pulling her broken body from the wreckage. She was the only person on the bus to survive.
In the end, 185 people died and thousands more were injured.
“When times are dark, look for the helpers” - Fred Rogers
As the dust settled, the people stood up. In moments they sprang into action. People began combing through the debrie helping survivors. It is these kind of moments that restore your faith in humanity.
But, it was not without terror. Great courage was needed. There would end up being over 11,000 aftershocks. First responders reported they could hear from the earth beneath their feet audibly rumbling for hours.
In the next two weeks, an army of University students and others shoveled away 65,000 tons of rubble. Thousands helped.
Today there is a memorial that is peaceful and quiet next to the Avon River. The names of the fallen are engraved there.
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After all of that, there was a place to go that the Kiwi’s took advantage of repeatedly. We visited there today.
When you encounter great beauty you often experience a stillness. You become quiet. Your senses are trying to absorb the enchanting images and there is little need for words. We have all done it. You experience a hush when you enter a great cathedral. You experience it even more so with visions of nature. It is a balm to the soul. It is a healing and, more often, a holy experience. You have no words that can add to the scene.
After walking across the grounds of the disaster, we entered the Botanical Garden. It is located in the 407 acre Hagley Park. This is the largest urban park in New Zealand. The Garden is over 100 years old. It was a cool oasis of stunning beauty.
When a garden reached such a great age, it becomes a life of its own. The paths form a unique ecosystem and an enchanting experience.
Years ago there was a television show called CBS Sunday Morning. The finale of each episode was they would take a camara to some place in nature and just turn on the microphone and let it run. For about 90 seconds, the only noise you would hear was the wind and the birds as you watched the tranquil images. No matter how your mood was, you always felt a little lifted afterwards. Beauty does that to you.
While I do not have a film, I do have some images of one of the most beautiful parks we have ever visited. I humbly offer them now. I invite you now to linger over them and let the colors wash over you as they did us. The Gardener does good work.
Amen
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