Funeral homily for Phil Hodgkins

Phil Hodgkins funeral homily June 29, 2019 We gather together today to celebrate the life of Phil Hodgkins, to mourn his loss among us, and to commend him to God’s care and keeping in his new life eternal. Phil was such a gentle, funny, and faithful man. He loved well: his family, his friends, his church; and he cared for two wives who both experienced long, debilitating illnesses. At St. Thomas, he was always here when we needed him: singing in the choir, taking pictures at church events. I’ll never forget the first time we had an event at church, and I had forgotten to ask Phil to bring his camera to take pictures. But he showed up with his camera anyway, and he took pictures. I spoke to him afterward, thanking him for doing it, and I realized then that Phil just seemed to know when we needed him, and he would show up and humbly and faithfully share his gifts without being asked. That was the kind of guy he was. And what a gift he was to this community of faith! Phil was gently funny. Phil cracked “dad jokes” before dad jokes were cool! His jokes always made you have to think a bit, especially his puns, and he would deliver them in this quiet, sort of off-hand way that would catch you off-guard and would make them even funnier. Phil had a deep faith which had room for scholarship and questioning, as all healthy, adult-faith should. He was deeply committed to his Cursillo reunion group and the relationships formed in that community of support, and he has been a faithful member of the St. Thomas community for many, many years. Phil also had a gift for seeking and finding beauty in God’s creation. I’ve lost count of how many photographs of flowers of his that I have looked at, and his most recent pictures from Yellowstone show discerning eye and his wonder at God’s creation to their fullest. But Phil didn’t just find God and God’s beauty in the natural world. He also had a gift for seeking it out in us: pictures of children during Youth Sunday and Vacation Bible school and backpack blessings; pictures of us worshipping together, breaking bread together, playing together. Phil captured the beauty of God’s creation in us as well. Phil’s favorite hymn was hymn 409, the one we just sang. He was always asking Bernadette if we could sing it in church. The hymn is all about the beauty of God’s creation and how creation sings together to glorify the God who created her. The last half of the last verse really gets to the heart of who Phil was: “In reason’s ear, they all rejoice, and utter forth a glorious voice; for ever singing as they shine, ‘The hand that made us is divine.’” Phil lived a good, long life. He lived and loved well. His final days were spent trekking across the country marking sights off his bucket list. His sudden death of a major cardiac event is sad and shocking, and it is not how any of us would have wanted him to die. (I know I would have liked to see him finish his trip and have many more adventures with his family in Alaska as he had planned.) But even as we mourn Phil’s loss among us in this world, we give thanks that “gentle death has led back home this child of God.” We remember that death is not the end, but a change. And we remember the hope of Easter, the light and the hope that Phil lived his life in: that through Jesus’s death and resurrection from the dead, God has shown that God’s love is stronger than absolutely everything…even death. As I was looking through some of Phil’s photos on his Facebook page the other day, I came across a post that was shared by his niece Amanda. It was a post that Phil wrote in 2016 after having returned from his sister’s funeral, and it seems appropriate to share these words of his with you today: “Back from Mary K’s memorial service. There are 7 of the 9 kids still living (I’m the oldest). This group portrait is the first time all of us have been in the same place since 1991 (or thereabouts) when Mom had a heart attack. 9 of us met at the hospital where she had a protracted stay. She passed shortly after and Dad the next year. We sang ‘The strife is o’er, the battle won’ at Mom’s funeral, and at Mary K’s memorial. I have not been able to sing more than half a stanza without choking up. One of the things I have had driven home to me is that life and family are too valuable to hold back from seeing and knowing what you can of your siblings, however far flung and cranky they may be. Life is too short not to love those who love you.” “Life is too short not to love those who love you.” Amen and thank you, Phil. May you find joy with the God who created you, as God welcomes you home and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”