Funeral Homily for Dick Wilson

Dick Wilson’s funeral homily August 5, 2018 Every week as he was leaving church, Dick Wilson, who would usually be close to the end of what I like to call “the holy handshake line”, would come up to me. He’d take my hand, and I’d lean in and give him a kiss on his cheek. And he’d look at my face with that sweet smile of his and say, “How’s my favorite priest?” And I would smile back and answer, and after a brief conversation, we would both go on our way. My story is hardly unique. Over the last week, I’ve heard so many stories from you all about your friendships with Dick—his special nicknames for you, the many times you played golf or went fishing with him, the times he taught you or your children or grandchildren Sunday School, the times he came to watch you at your swim meet, the times you were touched by one of his impromptu speeches either in church or in social gatherings, the times you spent with him as his family at his and Mary’s home. So, it will come as no surprise to any of you, that Dick’s gift was one that is best articulated in a sort of old-fashioned word, and it’s not accident, I think, that this word is also found in the marriage vows. Dick’s gift was to cherish people. He had a gift not just for loving people, but for also letting them know that they were loved. It will also come as no surprise to you, I think, to learn that Dick planned this service in a very thorough and detailed way. He picked the hymns and the readings, and it is important to note that in his choice of the Lamentations reading, Dick has given us all one last gift. Listen to the beginning of it again: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.” Dick was able to love others, to cherish us, because he had already known love. He knew the steadfast love of the Lord which never ceases. He abided in that, basked in, even, all of his days for 96 years. Dick was able to share God’s love for us because he knew it, tasted its joy afresh every day And so today, even as we mourn the loss of this lovely man in our lives, in our community of faith, we give thanks for Dick’s life and witness. And we remember and hold fast to the faith that Dick Wilson lived: that God’s love is stronger than anything, even death, and that in and through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, through that gift of God’s love, at death our lives are changed, not ended, and we will all feast together once again at the table for the family of God. We will be reunited once again, all together, in God’s steadfast love which never ceases. So today, let us mourn. Let us give thanks. Let us love and cherish one another. And let us commend Dick to the care and keeping of the Lord he knew and loved.