Yesterday I went on a hike hosted by “Southern California Botanists.” Botany hikes are not good exercise. We get about five feet down the path and somebody says, “Hey look at this plant!” We all gather round, ooh and ah, take pictures. We go another five feet down the path. “Oh wow, look at that plant!” Some of these plants are tiny grey mats of fluff that only a botanist could love. But a few were gorgeous. I had never heard of Turkish Rugging before. A whole bluff covered with little purple balls. I got to learn about these plants from the guy who wrote the book on Orange County native plants. Literally. Tucked under his arm, Fred Roberts had “the book” listing the 22,000 Orange County wild plants. Fred also co-wrote the book on OC native wildflowers. It was funny to watch him reel off the Latin name of a plant and then say, “But let me check!” Then he pulls out his own book, and spells it correctly for us.
This kind of field trip is not for everybody. Scott was relieved when he heard about it that he hadn’t tagged along. But what a gift it was for we who love this land and want to know it better, and for some reason enjoy knowing Latin names of things. Fred shared with us his passion, his love for these gifts of God, and he was also equipping another generation of volunteers to pass that love on.
Fred has been doing a botanical survey of rare plants at Crystal Cove State Park, right near the beach. Several varieties were thought extinct, because the botanists hired to do surveys before Fred didn’t bother climbing the bluffs to look for them. That he cares enough to look for them matters. If you identify a colony of rare plants, you can protect them, and that helps protect the land they’re on. Love in action.
We heard a piece of good news from Fred’s friend Dave, who is retired now, but used to manage Orange County’s coastal state parks. The bluffs we saw were not wildlands before the 1980’s. They were horse corrals and vegetable gardens. The soil was almost entirely bare sand, and what few plants were there were almost all invasive weeds. The bare cliffs were crumbling into the sea. Crystal Cove State Park was formed in 1978, and Dave’s crew began replanting a few native plants. With the cows and horses and plows gone and a little priming the pump, the seed bank hiding in the soil woke up. Many more varieties of natives than they’d planted began to appear. Now the bluffs are topped with deeply rooted native bushes that help prevent erosion into the sea. As Dave told us this, you could see the pride in his face.
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Brea Congregational United Church of Christ
May 12, 2019
Love in Action
Acts 9:36-42 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
It has been my pleasure to participate in a Breaking Bread Group over the last two months. A half dozen of us gathered at each others homes. When it was my turn, we went to happy hour at Taps so people didn’t have to drive to Irvine. We took turns telling about our lives, and our faith, and our take on our church. It does me good to listen to participants of our church, as well as talk to you. One member of our group said this: “We are a conservative church. We believe Jesus.” That took me a while to process. What he meant was that we believe what Jesus taught. And at the center of what he taught was not right belief, but love in action. The most important commandment Jesus gave us: Love God, with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. And the second: Love your neighbor as yourself. We gather here to remember what love looks like.
Love sometimes looks like simple respect. That is no small thing these days. Love sometimes looks like sharing, caring, offering but not forcing. Love can look like setting respectful limits instead of resenting. It sometimes looks like commitment when it would be easier to walk away. At its simplest, love looks like sharing a gift or a kindness with another, regardless of whether that other looks like us, or belongs with us, or is respectable.
Sometimes we get caught up in abstract ideas about what our religion is or isn’t. I enjoy talking theology, but that is not the heart of what Jesus taught us. Love is not a feeling. Love is a verb, a doing. We will not always succeed in loving like we think we should. We will do it imperfectly, and we will risk being hypocrites. That’s what happens when you have worthy goals.
Love does not require any miracles. Thank God. Peter worked a miracle, raising Tabitha from the dead. Whether or not you take the bible story at face value, consider. Peter has just created impossible expectations. The next time someone dies, call Peter! He’ll raise them from the dead, right? What do you mean you can’t do it this time, Peter? Don’t you love us? Aren’t you right with God? Poor Peter.
There are some things love cannot mend. But maybe it is just as well that most of us do not know how to do big heroic acts of love like Peter. Just little stitches like Tabitha’s that, over time, knit together lives of sacred worth and care.
Tabitha’s simple acts of love, in making clothing for others, are ordinary, and have inspired people for thousands of years. Tabitha’s love wasn’t abstract. It was clothing people well who would otherwise have had rags. She gave what gifts and time and talents she had to serve others. It seems from the story that she gathered others to serve with her, and that is a pretty good way to keep a church thriving. Love in action.
Churches through the ages have had Tabitha circles, sewing or quilting or knitting in community. Often the products of those circles go to people needing warmth or comfort. A friend of this church described knitting a prayer shawl for her friend who is facing cancer. She discovered a whole system of praying as she knit, so that loads of prayer and love went into that shawl. Her friend took a picture of herself wrapped in the shawl, waiting in the doctor’s office. But love in action can take different forms.
Yesterday I went on a hike hosted by “Southern California Botanists.” Botany hikes are not good exercise. We get about five feet down the path and somebody says, “Hey look at this plant!” We all gather round, ooh and ah, take pictures. We go another five feet down the path. “Oh wow, look at that plant!” Some of these plants are tiny grey mats of fluff that only a botanist could love. But a few were gorgeous. I had never heard of Turkish Rugging before. A whole bluff covered with little purple balls. I got to learn about these plants from the guy who wrote the book on Orange County native plants. Literally. Tucked under his arm, Fred Roberts had “the book” listing the 22,000 Orange County wild plants. Fred also co-wrote the book on OC native wildflowers. It was funny to watch him reel off the Latin name of a plant and then say, “But let me check!” Then he pulls out his own book, and spells it correctly for us.
This kind of field trip is not for everybody. Scott was relieved when he heard about it that he hadn’t tagged along. But what a gift it was for we who love this land and want to know it better, and for some reason enjoy knowing Latin names of things. Fred shared with us his passion, his love for these gifts of God, and he was also equipping another generation of volunteers to pass that love on.
Fred has been doing a botanical survey of rare plants at Crystal Cove State Park, right near the beach. Several varieties were thought extinct, because the botanists hired to do surveys before Fred didn’t bother climbing the bluffs to look for them. That he cares enough to look for them matters. If you identify a colony of rare plants, you can protect them, and that helps protect the land they’re on. Love in action.
We heard a piece of good news from Fred’s friend Dave, who is retired now, but used to manage Orange County’s coastal state parks. The bluffs we saw were not wildlands before the 1980’s. They were horse corrals and vegetable gardens. The soil was almost entirely bare sand, and what few plants were there were almost all invasive weeds. The bare cliffs were crumbling into the sea. Crystal Cove State Park was formed in 1978, and Dave’s crew began replanting a few native plants. With the cows and horses and plows gone and a little priming the pump, the seed bank hiding in the soil woke up. Many more varieties of natives than they’d planted began to appear. Now the bluffs are topped with deeply rooted native bushes that help prevent erosion into the sea. As Dave told us this, you could see the pride in his face.
Another example of love in action. Last year I went to the Iftar meal at the mosque in Anaheim. People came together on a rooftop on a spring evening to share with each other the struggle and celebration of Ramadan. They had fasted all their daylight hours. The people from Brea Congregational had not fasted; it was actually First Food Sunday, complete with potluck! Nevertheless we were welcomed to accompany them as they prayed and broke their fast with a delicious feast. Reaching out across barriers that some would make hateful and violent, to invite strangers to celebrate a holy feast with them. Our Muslim friends showed us love in action.
Sometimes love is remembering. Each second Tuesday of the month, an interfaith memorial service is held at St. Philip Benizi church in Fullerton for the people of Orange County who have died “without fixed abode” in the previous month. All the names are read aloud. The souls of the homeless are not forgotten. Love in action.
Sometimes love is taking public stands on issues, because justice is what love looks like in public. My friend Sarah Halverson brought her baby to the Costa Mesa City Council meeting last week, She was there to speak for flying a rainbow flag at city hall each year from May 22, Harvey Milk Day, through June, Pride Month. Sarah didn’t need to stay with her baby for three hours till 9:30 pm and speak in favor of the flag. The Council already had the votes. But she wantedto speak for her church’s values, to support her friends, and to remind people how important it is to make a safe space for LGBTQ people these days. Love in action.
Another example of love in action. Many of you have asked, “How can we help,” when you heard of Mike Flynn’s accident. It sounds like our help is not needed right now, but Lauren knows we offered, and I hope she knows how much love and prayers are there for Mike. Our love can’t fix him, but we hope it brings their family a little comfort and encouragement. There will be a card for you to sign in the Hall after the service.
A final example of love in action. Edith died last week at the age of 91. I never met Edith. I learned about her from my friend, who had to tell me about Edith. Every year for twenty-five years Edith called up my friend and asked her who could she drive to Idyllwild for their annual retreat. Edith would drive from Orange to Newport Beach to pick someone up to take to Idyllwild. And back again at the end of the weekend. Never mind that she was older than the person she was driving. You all know that driving someone distances in Southern California traffic is an act of love. My friend was walking down the street with Edith one time when she fished a Kleenex out of her purse, bent over, and scooped up a piece of gum. Because then it wouldn’t get caught on the bottom of someone’s shoe. Love can be that simple. That was how Edith operated, apparently all the time.
Edith clearly loved what she did, as did Tabitha, and she loved others through what she did. As do Fred and Dave. Love in action. No miracles required. No perfection required. Special skills can help, but thoughtfulness or enthusiasm work almost as well. What are your personal ways to put love in action?
I thank you, members and friends of Brea Congregational, for being love in action over and over again, in large ways and small. You bring food for the food shelf. You support Citizens Climate Lobby, including hosting that amazing Sustainable Living Faire. You marched in the OC Pride parade. You welcome visitors of all description. I see love in action as we do the small and ordinary tasks that keep us celebrating on Sunday morning and sharing this church’s message of inclusive welcome and love for all, including care for the earth. Thank you.
There is a risk in claiming an ethic of love. We will not always do it well. We may never think we are doing enough. And others may judge us as lacking. Occasionally we may do the opposite of love. (Speaking for myself, anyway.) This is the risk we take, being human, and trying to live up to high principles. Loving ourselves means accepting our limitations, forgiving our failures, and practicing kindness for ourselves as well as others.
So put your love into action, whether it’s babysitting or fixing a car, saying a prayer or writing a card, calling your congressperson or driving someone to the doctor. Do it with a friend, make it a habit, do it for the fun of it. Celebrate the people who show you love in action, like Tabitha. Watch what they do, learn, help. And if you can’t do what they do, just enjoy what they do, and figure out your special stitch in the fabric that is our love for one another and for God. And rely on God’s all-encompassing love to weave our little stitches together into a beautiful tapestry of sacred worth and care. Amen.
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