Surprised that I have exactly what I need for a difficult task

I am planting a garden again this year. Because of our quarantine time, I had plenty of opportunity to till, to weed, and to plant seed in early May. I actually planted potatoes, radish, carrot, beet, and spinach seeds on Monday, May 11. However, I also have some plant starts I have been waiting to plant in our garden on the hill behind our house. I have swiss chard, collards, early cabbage and red cabbage. I am also planting broccoli, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, and buttercrunch lettuce. In past years all of these plants have done well in our 30’ x 30’ area of tilled and enhanced soil.

However, there is a reason I have been waiting to plant the starts. Not only has the weather been cool, BUT, we have a new issue this year . . . rabbits! (Or more correctly stated for Alaska, snowshoe hare) It seems that 2020 is the peak of the population curve for rabbits in our area, and I have seen many of these long eared pests hopping around in my yard. We even have rabbit droppings in our garden plot. I’m sure you understand that I don’t want to plant these vegetables which I purchased and then have them eaten up and disappear right away. So, how do I keep the rabbits away?

My wife suggested a fence as a possible rabbit deterrent. But, there are a number of reasons I don’t want to put up a fence. My Extension agent suggested predator urine. But, I wasn’t sure about that either. Where do I get the urine? How much do I use? How much does it cost? The problem about when to plant and what to do with this year’s rabbits was puzzling. What will I do? Where do I get the help I need to deal with this problem?

Then I talked with Pastor Craig Schultz of St. John Lutheran. He grew up on a farm in New York and said that he and his wife, Martha, have put dog hair around their vegetables. The dog hair has kept rabbits away for them. Well! As the owner of a yellow Labrador retriever, if there is anything which I have in abundance, it is dog hair! Kathy reminded me I could harvest this already collected hair in our vacuum canister. It turns out that, in facing this new and difficult task, I already have what I need to deal with the problem and to help me accomplish my goal of planting a garden.

In traditional Christian churches, which follow the assigned lectionary readings in worship, last Thursday, May 21, was Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter. This coming Sunday, May 31, is 50 days after this year’s Easter, so it is the day we celebrate the festival of Pentecost, when God poured out His Spirit on all flesh. You see, after Jesus’ resurrection, when He was preparing to physically leave this world, He gave the disciples a big job, an overwhelming mission. In Matthew 28 Jesus directed His 11 disciples, 18 . . . “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20, See also Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:46-47, and John 20:21-23) Jesus also repeated this charge on the day He ascended into heaven, telling His followers, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) How would these men, who had so often failed Jesus, accomplish this mission He gave?

This job of making “disciples of all nations”, this mission of being Jesus’ “witnesses . . . to the end of the earth” is not just the task Jesus gave His disciples. Jesus also calls us, the children of God today, to spread the good news of His saving love. How do we accomplish this big, overwhelming mission given to us by our Lord? Where will we get the ability, the strength to accomplish such a task? The truth is, sort of like in my garden, we already have exactly what we need! Jesus does not just send His church to make disciples, to be His witnesses to the end of the earth. Jesus promises, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

There are many commands Jesus has given His Church which are difficult, commands such as loving God with all our heart soul and mind, or loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31). And, how can we love our enemies? (Matthew 5:43-44) Jesus promises that for these difficult tasks, even though He has ascended and physically left this world, we are not alone. “16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16-17 a) God is with us through His Spirit to give us power and strength and ability as we face the challenges of the journey through life as a child of God.

I already have the help I need for a difficult task in my garden – I am abundantly blessed with dog hair. God has called us to continue the work of Jesus and to witness to His saving love to the ends of the earth. But, He has given us exactly what we need so that we have the power and strength for the task. God sends us His Holy Spirit. We Christians have the joy of celebrating God’s gift of the Holy Spirit in worship this Sunday.