The Burial of Geoffery Hill

Geoffrey Hill, 10/25/24
Isaiah 25:6-9
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
John 6:37-40

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

I did not know Jeff Hill.  In fact, I don’t know that I ever met him in person.  But I know many of you, his friends and family.  I was most familiar with his father, Dr. Ed, and with his sister Sarah.  And I’ve read with interest that amazing obituary.  I feel like I have a sense of the man without knowing him, because I know you, and I’ve read those words, and heard some of your stories, and that amazing poem we just heard.

A theme running through Jeff’s life was a desire to give back.  And a person who so emphasizes giving back shows that they know deep down that everything they have is a gift.  You can see it in our use of the word “back.”  We have been given, and we strive to give back.  And this leads to caring deeply for others.  Helping those who were, “not given,” if you will.  Jeff Hill intentionally choosing to spend so much time working with children is a perfect example of this.  Caring for children who need our help is among the highest of callings.

Jeff gave back because he could see the gifts in his own life.  And you can contrast that with people who think things are being taken away from them.  Who aren’t recognizing the gifts in their lives.  Who are just learning to see their own lives and gifts.  Those are the people Jeff spent time trying to help.  He knew that all good things in life are a gift, and he shared what he had as a person.  Jeff’s unrelenting—and feisty—love for his family shows that he knew all of you to be a gift to him as well.   

In the passage of scripture I read a few minutes ago, from John’s gospel, Jesus says, "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away.” And “I will lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”  Jesus does not lose what is his.  All of us are given the gift of life on this earth, and when our time here is through, we return back to the one who gave us that precious gift of life.

Jeff spent his days giving to others, caring for others, helping others.  And he passed that desire to give back on to all of you.  And now he has returned to the one from whom every good thing comes.  Though Jeff is lost to us as we continue to live out our own gift of life, he is not now—and never was—lost to God.  Because Jesus does not let go of what is his, and he will raise each of us up on the last day.  May God bless Geoffrey Hill, and may God bless all of you.

Amen.