Lessons from Quackgrass

There are some things that I live with, whether I like it or not!   Monday was a glorious day (one of VERY few this spring), which gave me a chance to go out and work in the garden.  We were crazy enough to plant some peas and beets a few weeks back (just in time for the snow), so I wanted to see if they peeked their first leaves out of the ground.  When I got to the raised beds I saw no peas or beets, but I did see my old nemesis: quackgrass.   Already twice this spring I’ve worked those beds to get every scrap of grass out but the quackgrass would not be denied.  It travels underground in long roots, sending springs of grass up at random intervals.  I’ve tried for years to get rid of it with no luck.  No matter what I do in life, the quackgrass will still be there.  It’s tough stuff.

A couple thousand years ago the religious establishment in Jerusalem had a rogue teacher named Jesus on their hands.   He undermined the power and privilege they had in interpreting God’s will for the nation of Israel.  This Jesus dared to give hope to the outcast, to tax collectors, to sinners, and to foreigners.  The religious leaders knew that they had to do something before the movement got out of hand.  They conspired to have Jesus put to death.  They watched in satisfaction as Jesus hung on a cross.  They thought that they had one less problem to worry about in life.  Within a few days, they heard word that the old nemesis no longer lay in the tomb.  They tried to get rid of him with no luck.  No matter what they did, Jesus was still there.

Lately I’ve heard a lot of talk about the future of the Christian Church in America.  The in 1950’s the Christian Church dominated American culture.  The numbers show that this is no longer the case.  Over the past decade there is not a single denomination that has shown growth.  Not one.  The number of people who do not claim any congregation continues to grow significantly.   By following the trends, people infer that in the future the Christian Church will become insignificant.  They assume that the day will come when nobody cares about God anymore.  Their predictions forget one thing: the power of God!  The Jesus who rose from the dead still works in our world.  Jesus isn’t done with us yet!  The Christian Church in American may look different in the future.  It may not dominate the culture as it had in the 1950’s, but God will not just pack up and go home.  Just as quackgrass spreads through small roots, God will use people to spread the Good News of Jesus.

God just won’t go away and leave us alone!  God chose us in baptism and has refused to sit idle, even on days when we haven’t been so sure that we want or need God to work in our lives.  God has kept after us, bringing us faith.  We can try to get rid of him, but we’ll have no luck.  No matter what we do in life, no matter how hard we try to get rid of Him, Jesus will still there.