The lessons of flowers

Marisol Caballero
May 25, 2014

We join in this much-loved tradition of Flower Communion that celebrates beauty, diversity, and uniqueness in community.

Call to Worship
By Thomas Rhodes

We come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.
Some of us grow in bunches.
Some of us grow alone.
Some of us are cupped inward,
And some of us spread ourselves out wide.
Some of us are old and dried and tougher than we appear.
Some of us are still in bud.
Some of us grow low to the ground, And some of us stretch toward the sun.
Some of us feel like weeds, sometimes.
Some of us carry seeds, sometimes.
Some of us are prickly, sometimes.
Some of us smell.
And all of us are beautiful.
What a bouquet of people we are!

Reading: “For the Flowers Have the Gift of Language”
Reginald Zottoli

Speak, flowers, speak!
Why do you say nothing?
The flowers have the gift of language. In the meadow they speak of freedom,
Creating patterns wild and free as no gardener could match.
In the forest they nestle, snug carpets under the roof of
Leaf and branch, making a rug of such softness.
At end tip of branches they cling briefly
Before bursting into fruit sweet to taste.

Flowers, can you not speak joy to our sadness?
And hope to our fear?
Can you not say how it is with you
That you color the darkest corner?

The flowers have the gift of language.
At the occasion of birth they are buds before bursting.
At the ceremony of love they unite two lovers in beauty.
At the occasion of death, they remind us how lovely is life.

Oh, would that you had voice,
Silent messengers of hope.
Would that you could tell us how you feel,
Arrayed in such beauty.

The flowers have the gift of language.
In the dark depths of a death camp
They speak the light of life.
In the face of cruelty
They speak of courage.
In the experience of ugliness
They bespeak the persistence of beauty.

Speak, messengers, speak!
For we would hear your message.
Speak, messengers, speak!
For we need to hear what you would say.

For the flowers have the gift oflanguage:
They transport the human voice on winds of beauty;
They lift the melody of song to our ears;
They paint through the eye and hand of the artist;
Their fragrance binds us to sweet-smelling earth.

May the blessing of the flowers be upon you.
May their beauty beckon to you each morning
And their loveliness lure you each day,
And their tenderness caress you each night.
May their delicate petals make you gentle,
And their eyes make you aware.
May their stems make you sturdy,
And their reaching make you care.

Introduction to Flower Communion

The Unitarian Universalist Flower Communion service which we are about to celebrate was originated in 1923 by Rev. Dr. Norbert Capek founder of the modern Unitarian movement in Czechoslovakia. On the last Sunday before the summer recess of the Unitarian church in Prague, all the children and adults participated in this colorful ritual, which gives concrete expression to the humanity-affIrming principles of our liberal faith. When the Nazis took control of Prague in 1940, they found Capek’s gospel of the inherent worth and beauty of every human person to be – as Nazi court records show– ” …too dangerous to the Reich [for him] to be allowed to live.” Capek was sent to Dachau, where he was killed the next year during a Nazi “medical experiment.” This gentle man suffered a cruel death, but his message of human hope and decency lives on through his Flower Communion, which is widely celebrated today. It is a noble and meaning-fIlled ritual we are about to recreate. This service includes the original prayers of Capek to help us remember the principles and dreams for which he died.

Consecration of Flowers
by Norbert Capek

InfInite Spirit of Life, we ask thy blessing on these, thy messengers of fellowship and love. May they remind us, amid diversities of knowledge and of gifts, to be one in desire and affection, and devotion to thy holy will. May they also remind us of the value of comradeship, of doing and sharing alike. May we cherish friendship as one of thy most precious gifts. May we not let awareness of another’s talents discourage us, or sully our relationship, but may we realize that, whatever we can do, great or small, the efforts of all of us are needed to do thy work in this world.

Prayer

Spirit of all Life and of Love,
God of many names,
We pray that we can be more like flowers,
Whose delicate beauty and soft petals
Remind us that we are sensitive, permeable beings.

We pray that we can be more like flowers,
whose strength can sometimes endure
nuclear devastation and deep arctic freezes.

We pray that we can be more like flowers,
On this Memorial Day weekend
Who mourn death by celebrating beauty
And comfort survivors
With the hope of new life.

We do pray that we can be more like flowers,
Whose too-soon fading beauty
Remind us that life is too short
to choose anything but joy and love.

May we bless creation in these same ways.
Amen.

Sermon “The Lessons of Flowers”

Today we are celebrating all that flowers can teach us. Every year, we know that warmer days are ahead when we begin to see fIelds of bluebonnets on the side of the freeways. They remind us that we live in a beautiful place and that, just like we like to do the same things every year, such as today’s ritual of Flower Communion, Nature has its own rituals to celebrate when spring arrives.

We often celebrate all of the things we can learn indoors. We go to school and read big books, or we sit at our computers and spend the day bookmarking and reposting any article that we fInd particularly interesting. And, while most of us will readily confess our love for the outdoors, especially when we have had weather as beautiful as we’ve had lately, we don’t often realize all of the lessons that Nature has taught us. So today, on the day that we enjoy our beloved Flower Communion, let’s think about some of the ways that flowers teach us the important things about life. Afterall, William Wordsworth, himself, said in his poem, The Tables Turned,

Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There’s more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless-
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

In a moment, you’ll all be invited to come up and select a flower that is not the one you brought with you. When you hold it gently in your hand, I hope you’ll do so “with a heart that watches and receives” the lessons it has to teach you.

There are some things we already know about flowers. Let’s hear you shout out some of the things you know about flowers….

I often say that every age has wisdom in it. Babies have a way of learning that is inaccessible to adults, except for the most genius of geniuses. Kids have imaginations that can help solve problems in ways that grown-ups might never imagine. Teens often have ways of changing the world that take older generations many years to catch up to or even notice that change has happened around them. Adults do a great job, most of the time, in teaching pragmatism and common sense. And our elders teach us patience and a new way of enjoying life and rolling with the punches.

It’s interesting to me that, if we look hard enough, if we really pay attention, we can learn all ofthese same lessons and more from flowers, too! Here are a few of them:

Keep pushing until you break through.
All flowers were once seeds. Although it is probably beyond their wildest dreams that someday they would be tall, and beautiful, and fragrant, they persevere through what sometimes seems like impossible odds, they just keep on pushing through the dirt Ulltil they see the light of day. They teach us that we have to get through the dirty parts of life and work hard in order to realize our full potential.

Face in the direction of the sun.
No matter where the sun is in the sky, flowers will tum their faces in the sun’s direction. In this way, they teach us that we always have a choice – we could either look at the gloomy side of things, or we could spend our days looking on the bright side. Sometimes, this is hard to do. Bad things do happen. People get sick and sometimes die. Natural disasters and poverty leave people homeless. I’m sure you can think of bad things that have happened to you and your loved ones.

Sometimes it’s not only ok, but extremely appropriate to be angry or sad, but what flowers teach us about this is that we should not get stuck there. Even if it takes some time, we should seek joy in our lives.

If you need help, ask a bee.
Many types of flowers could not survive without a little help from their friends. In order to make new buds, flowers must ask bees and other insects or birds to help them pollinate. They do this in many ways. Some of them decorate their petals with bright stripes so that the bees will know exactly where to land. Some of them will even disguise themselves to look and smell like rotting meat to attract flies over. Others will pretend to be a female bee so that the male bee will want to come over and get a closer look. They have all kinds of clever ways of asking for help.

Sometimes it’s hard for us to ask for help. Sometimes we’d rather do things ourselves. Independence is ok, just as long as our stubborn independence doesn’t make us forget that we are actually all interdependent. We rely on each other more than we realize. There will be times for all of us that we’ll need to ask for help. There will be friends of ours, during those times, that will get a great deal of joy out of being able to be there to assist us, too.

Smelling good doesn’t hurt.
First impressions do matter. Flowers understand this better than most. They spend time becoming beautiful as they bloom, but many of them also smell great. For thousands of years, people have been adorning themselves with wreathes of flowers and with perfumes made from their oils to emulate their sweet presentation. It is a lesson that flowers continue to teach us- the way others experience us, our appearance our cleanliness, our manners, has a lasting effect. Taking the time to put our best foot forward does payoff in our personal and professional lives. We don’t want to give a stinking impression.

Rain has its bonuses.
Rainy days can spoil our fun. We usually have to cancel or change our plans. We might feel a bit drowsy as the day goes along. We may not remember how it feels here in Austin, but when we have many, many days in a row of rainy weather, our bodies begin to crave sUllshine. We may begin to feel down in the dumps because of it. Many sad songs and poems talk about rain. Rain imagery is easily recognizable as a common symbol for depression.

But, rain is not all gloom. Flowers couldn’t bloom without it. The same goes with our tough days. Some of the best lessons I’ve learned, that have made me a much better person, have happened because of my most diffIcult days. Sometimes, the worst of times can also be, in ways that cannot be imagined when we are in the thick of it, the best of times, too. Next time you fInd yourself in the midst of a struggle, just think, “Here comes another bloomin’ growth opportunity.”

Grow roots where the soil is nourishing.
Flowers know how to play the hand they were dealt. If conditions aren’t exactly right, the seed will not make a go of it. They like to make their homes in a welcoming, nourishing environment, which sometimes happens to be in a crack in the sidewalk. I think I know some people like that, myself!

This is a great lesson for people. We should care enough about ourselves, our health, and our longevity to surround ourselves with people and conditions that will nourish our growth. We should stop trying to thrive in unhealthy environments. This may be the toughest lesson to learn. It’s so hard to recognize when the ways in which we relate to friends or family members is unhealthy. It’s agony to decide when a relationship has run its course. It’s hard to know exactly when to leave a job that is unfulfIlling or move across the country to a city that is a better fit. The good news it, for every flower, there is a happy spot that can suit them perfectly, sometimes it just takes some caring gardeners.

If you find yourself in winter, hang in there. Spring is awesome.
As I mentioned earlier, sometimes nasty weather in our lives lasts longer than we would like. Most flowers die out in winter, but something to always keep in mind is the promise of spring. Life is filled with cycles. The dips usually swing back up, with a good attitude, perseverance, and a strong support network. Come spring, there will be flowers a-plenty!

Flowers can teach us all these lessons, and many more, if we simply slow down and take the time to… You know what they say!

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