This eulogy was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas during the Service of Witness to the Resurrection on Thursday October 1, 2009. Thanks to Michael Card for the story of the little boy and the man.
Psalm 23
Matthew 25:31-46
I love a good story. Who doesn’t? A story that you might not know is that the lights outside of these front doors are not original to this building. Sure, renovations happen all of the time, not much of a story there. But the source of those lights, now that’s a story. You see, those two lanterns sitting so valiantly, waiting for God’s people to come and worship the Lord of all creation, those two lanterns came off of the Berryville speakeasy. That’s right; the lights that shine the light of God on the world were once on a prohibition era illegal saloon. I guess you can never tell just where anything came from, or where anything is going.
You might ask why I would tell that story, the answer is easy. Yesterday when Ricky’s family heard this story, they told me that he would get a hoot out of his funeral being held in a place with tavern lanterns on the front stoop.
Ricky loved a good story, and I wish I knew more of the details to this one, because it would be a yarn worth spinning. Ricky loved not just to hear a good story; he loved to tell them too.
As the father of five, he had a bunch of growing up tales to tell, both to and then about his children.
A Nam era vet, I can only imagine the stories he had about his time in the service. For example, he is the one and only soldier to receive a three day pass for acing the sharpshooting course. The reason he is the one and only is because after he got the pass, word came down the line that that little commendation would never happen again. So to this day, Ricky is the one and only.
In the service, he was reported missing in action, which must have been harrowing. The time he served as a prisoner of the NVA could have only been worse.
He loved to travel, not in the way most folks travel. He loved to hitch-hike across the country finding adventures and tales along the way. He would tell stories and share them with friends and I imagine anyone with an ear to bend and a few minutes to listen. His family told me that he would stand behind every word he said… until it changed.
I was told that he stood up for what he believed. He stood up for people who could not defend themselves. He stood up for those who are weak and less fortunate. He stood up.
He stood up.
Not long ago, I heard a definition of what it means to stand up for someone. It’s from a story of a young boy and an older man. It’s a story about a boy who was upset with his parents, for a reason long lost to time. The little boy was upset, so the older man took the younger boy aside and said, I believe in you, even if you’re wrong, I believe in you.
I think Ricky would have liked that story. It points to a love that is given without reservation. Love given without condition. Love given without strings attached. The Ricky his children shared with me yesterday would have been like this older man, he would have stood up for the boy.
The joy of this story is that our Lord loves us all with this same love. I am told that Ricky was not a religious man, and as the local Presbyterian minister, it may seem out of character for me to say that Jesus is standing for Ricky right now; even though he wasn’t religious. That’s fine because being without religion does not mean being without faith; and salvation comes by grace alone though faith alone. You see, God believes in us. God believes in us.
And Ricky, the man who sticks up for his friends, the man who sticks up for those who can’t stick up for themselves, this man is before God now. And I have faith that the Lord who takes care of the weak is now taking care of Ricky. Because as Jesus tells us all, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” This, this my friends is eternal life.
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