Julia Lu Memorial Service 3 29 2005
2:00 PM, FCBC
Call to Worship
We believe that Jesus died and rose again; and so it will be for those who have died in Christ. God will raise them to be with the Lord forever.
On behalf of the Lu Family, Martin, David and Georgia, we welcome you here today for a memorial service of celebrating the wonderfully blessed life of Julia Lee Lu who came into the world on March 7, 1906 and lived for over 99 years to returned to the Lord on March 23, 2005. Through many years of life, God has watched over Julia Lu to become a blessing to many. We pray that you will receive God’s care and love as you bear witness of your presence to honor Julia Lu and to comfort her family.
Let us pray. Almighty God, we thank you for destroying death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The battle is over, the victory is won, and we can now follow our Lord into everlasting life. Fill us with the power of your Holy Spirit, so that our faith will remain strong during this time of loss. Help us to see that death has no power over those who die in Christ, for they have been raised to live with him forever. In the strong name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Counting the Days to Plant
If you have ever lived in the East Coast, counting the days before it is safe to plant is an annual ritual. The amazing perennial Farmer’s Almanac seems quite accurate in forecasting when the snow will finally melt, the ground dormant from the hard freeze will be soft again to till, and the sun high and hot enough to burst open the seeds to sprout. Before we got these Home Depot large box garden nurseries where with a few dollars one can have instant landscape with curb appeal, we used to buy little packages of seeds and on the back of the Burpee packages would be this drawing of the US and almost always if you plan to plant in the East Coast, the yellow section that tells you when it’s okay to plant is much later than out here in the West Coast.
Our son and his family who live in Boston said to me on Sunday, how they have had a very long winter this year and how he can’t wait to finally go out to begin picking up the fallen branches, raking up the leftover leaves from last autumn and to finally taking out the hand trowel to begin planting. They are counting the days to plant.
Our dear friend, Julia Lu had a green thumb. Her thumb became green from her love to tenderly guide and grow plants and flowers. Any of us who have had the opportunity to visit her home would know that outside of her patio in the Embarcadero Apartments, she had many plants, thriving and flowering even against the pollution of the city and the shadows of tall skyscrapers. During World War II, she started her own “victory garden” as a way to grow her own food as well as to contribute food to the needy when times were difficult. She was so successful in her gardening that she won prizes for her plants when living in Washington, D.C.
One does not get a green thumb when you buy ready-to-plant plants from Home Depot. You barely have enough time to get your hands dirty. To acquire a real green thumb requires time—a great deal of time to patiently watch things grows according to God’s time rather than our instant-gratification time.
The Psalmist says in chapter 90 that while God’s time is from everlasting to everlasting, our time on earth is like fresh grass that flourishes in the morning but in the evening it fades and withers. Therefore, we pray to God that the days that we do have, we are to use them to work for God’s glory, counting our days that we may gain a wise heart. God has truly blessed Julia Lu with many days in her life to have lived over 99 years. Even with the modern science that we have, this is still a remarkable testimony of God’s love and grace for his servant Julia Lu. At the end, Julia Lu had a wise heart. She would always say to people, “You take care of yourself! I love you so much. Don’t work so hard!” It was almost like she knew that what we do that we think is so important today is never as important as to love God and to count each day as a blessing from God.
Julia didn’t just have a wise heart, she practiced what she believed. Whenever she had any ounce of energy in her, she would rise up early on Sunday morning and have Marin drive her to church to attend worship. We would save that chair at the end of that row for her as long as we can; anticipating her coming to church. Whenever she doesn’t show up, people would call her that night inquiring if she is okay. For most of us if we were 99 years old or even 80 years old or maybe even 70, we would have all kinds of excuses for not coming to church. Not Julia, she came because she knew that she was still a child of God and has a deep desire to know more of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Like the seeds that she plants or the little seedlings that she thrusts into the deep brown soil, it takes time to grow in our faith in God—even when we are 99 years old. And like how beautiful the flowers that bloomed, Julia Lu would dress elegantly always prim and proper to meet her Lord.
The Gospel lesson taken from John today speaks about Jesus is the true vine and God is the vinedresser. When we abide in Christ, we become the branches that bear much fruit. When we are counting the days to plant, we can easily think of ourselves as the vinedresser—with the power of putting azaleas there and calla lilies here. And when we discover that we want to change our landscape design, we come in with a home improvement crew and pull out the plants and start again.
Jesus teaches us that when we are branches depended on him as the true vine, we are to follow his commandments to love one another; that no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. And when we get to that point in our relationship with Christ, he then stops seeing us as anyone else except friends. God chooses us to become partners with Christ to bear much fruit that will last forever. The life of Julia Lu is a testimony of abiding in Christ. The church was her life. Imagine for ourselves that our main purpose every week was to get up on Sunday to come to church. That’s a teaching that we can all learn from a woman with a wise heart.
Julia Lu took Jesus’ commandments to heart and loved others. So many people have shared how they always felt so affirmed and appreciated when speaking with Julia. When we would come to see how she was doing, she with a twinkle in her eye and a broad big smile would somehow turn the conversation back to you. She would ask how you are doing and pretty soon we leave the conversation feeling so much better than before. With a strong grip, she conveyed how much she cares for you. No wonder we all love Julia—because like Christ, she first loved us.
For most of us here today, we may still be wondering about how significant our lives will finally end up. Would it be a long obituary or a simple one? Would there be celebrities or political leaders or just a few friends in a sanctuary of our faith? When we reflect on the life of Julia Lu, we recognize that we all have many chances to come to know God as she did. It’s never been about what earthly accomplishments we achieved that matters but it has always been how much we have loved God with all of our soul, with all of our strength, and all of our mind. We are all invited to count the days to plant our lives in Christ.
On Sunday, March 6th, the day before her 99th birthday, her son, Martin requested a large bouquet of pink roses to celebrate Julia Lu’s birthday. Right before the service when we were about to sing “Happy Birthday” to her, we received the word that she was in the hospital. After the morning service, we brought over the roses to Julia in the hospital. She was delighted to see the beautiful pink roses. She knew how long it took to grow these flowers. She knew that in our time, these roses like our lives will fade and wither, and come to an end. But for that one moment, with remarkable wisdom to teach a somewhat experienced minister like me, she asked to bring the roses closer to her and she reached out to one of the roses and gently touched her face with it. She then said, “It’s like touching the face of God.”
Jesus said, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” (John 15:16-17)
Let us pray.
Faithful God, we thank you for the faith and witness of Christians through the centuries. We acknowledge with thanksgiving our debt to the prophets, apostles, and the saints. But on this day of remembrance, we praise you above all for ordinary disciples like Julia Lee Lu who never made a headline, in the world or even in the church, but who, by their faithfulness, their quiet example, their Sunday worship attendance, helped us find our anchor in the church, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.
Gracious God, we remember Julia Lee Lu with love for her love of flowers, and we pray for the comfort of her loved ones. Separated for a time, they are now members of your communion of saints which transcends time and space. And because of our Lord, they look forward to a joyful reunion in your presence. So we exclaim with your servant, Paul, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57) Amen.
Announcements
Donations to FCBC
Memorial Dinner at Four Seas, 3:00 PM
Found blue jacket in the hospital room