Funeral For Billy Eure

Can You See God?

The Rev. Joseph Winston

May 28, 2007

Lectionary

Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17

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And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man
whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of
the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 15 The Lord God took
the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the Lord
God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that
you eat of it you shall die.”

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Psalm 23
1
The L ORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the
house of the L ORD for ever.

1 Corinthians 13
1
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a
noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I
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hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice
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in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they
will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come
to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when

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the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke
like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult,
I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we
will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I
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have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and
the greatest of these is love.

John 14:1-6
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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my
Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told
you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may
be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to
him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.”

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
Try as I might, I could not find any readings in the Bible that talked about
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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tomatoes, peppers, or cucumbers. There is absolutely no information found any-
where in the Scriptures that covers issue of tying up tomatoes. Should you use
cages around every single tomato plant? Do you support each plant though the
use of some old pantyhose and a wooden stake? Or do you just let the plants
run free on the ground? Neither does the Bible give us any clear directions on
how you lay out your pepper plants. What is the proper spacing between plants?
Should they be put on the outside of the garden to keep wild animals out? And is
it really true that planting jalapenos near other pepper varieties makes your bell
peppers hotter? And maybe most importantly, God’s Holy Word does not give us
suggestions on selecting burpless cucumbers.
Despite these oversights on practical gardening tips, the Bible does give us a
story about a garden. In the lesson from Genesis, we hear about the first garden
ever planted on earth, the Garden of Eden. This plot of land planted by God con-
tained every living plant: trees of all kinds ranging from the most majestic oak to
the smallest shrub, ferns of every size and shape including the maidenhair and fid-
dleback, and of course plants, which must have included tomatoes, peppers, and
cucumbers. A river filled with cool, clear water supplied the needs of the plants
and it was Adam’s job to take care of the entire garden.
One can only imagine all of the work needed to keep Eden in tiptop shape.
As the sun peaked over the horizon, warmed the soil, and woke up the animals,
Adam got out of bed. Just like every other farmer, before he made his plans for
the day he checked the weather. Rain meant that he could not go out in the fields
to work while a sunny day gave him many hours of pleasure. Sundays provided

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the perfect day to work around the house. Maybe on Mondays, he tolled in the
northern portions of Eden. Tuesday’s chores took Adam to the east, Wednesday’s
work occurred in the western section, and Thursday brought him into the southern
quadrant of the garden. Friday was the day to catch up on all those “honey-do”
chores. Finally, on every Saturday, Adam, like God, rested from all of his work.
We do know one basic fact about Adam’s existence in the Garden of Eden.
Every evening, God walked in the garden. It seems safe to say that they both
enjoyed Eden. Adam loved his life in the garden and God’s pleasure for the good-
ness of creation could be clearly seen. This daily interaction between God and
man dwarfed every other aspect about life in Eden since here in the garden Adam
could see God face to face.
Adam is not the only creature who has seen God in creation. Billy Eure was
such a man. One of Billy’s favorite discussions was, “How can anyone be an
atheist?” Billy could not believe that anyone could deny the existence of God.
“Just look at a sunset,” Billy would say to me. “How could anyone not believe
in God?” Before you would even have a chance to respond, Billy would continue
on, “And what about the rest of the world with its trees, oceans, and mountains?”
“How could anyone believe that it just happened?”
Billy especially saw God in his garden. When Billy went in for his last open-
heart surgery, he made sure that every one knew that he needed to get home as
quickly as possible. He had one hundred tomato plants, a pallet of peppers, and
sack of onions that needed to be planted. When it was finally clear that he could
not leave the hospital soon enough to get all of the plants in the ground, Billy

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reluctantly gave this task to others. But do not forget, Billy had to tell them exactly
how to lay out his garden.
Come summer, no one ever went away from the Eure house empty handed
because Billy loved to give away the fresh vegetables from his garden. It did not
matter if you were rich or poor Billy wanted to share the bountiful harvest. It goes
without saying that this generosity extended to all of the nurses and doctors that
had helped him in his time of need. He and Iris were planning to return to the
hospital with fresh produce for each of them.
This was the faith of Billy Eure. A man who in his words and his actions
proved his love for God and his fellow human.
Billy was a good and faithful husband, father, and grandfather. He loved his
family and his family deeply loved him. These actions on Billy’s part were never
easy for him because Billy did not have a pain free life.
Billy served his country during World War Two and this time in the service
permanently scarred him. While working on a scaffold, a sniper shot at him. He
jumped to the ground and in doing so, he hurt his back. Billy carried this injury
with him to his death. This was not the only time in Billy’s life where a wound
followed him for the rest of his life. After his honorable discharge, Billy returned
home and marred. With almost no warning, his first wife took his young daughter
and left him. For as long as he lived, Billy never saw his daughter again.
After these two great tragedies, Iris came into Billy’s life. They were married
and lived together as husband and wife for almost fifty-four years. As long as I
have known them, their love never decreased. They were just as a dedicated couple

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on the day of their marriage as on the day Billy died.
If you look at the way Billy lived, you could see God. Billy and Iris had one
daughter Sherry who he loved deeply. In addition to his gifts of fresh fruits and
vegetables, Billy enjoyed taking Iris and Sherry to many different church activi-
ties. At these and other events, Billy volunteered to share his cooking skills. He
cared for others by making soup and serving huge servings of chicken spaghetti.
It was apparent to all who knew him that Billy’s love was not limited to his
wife and his daughter. He was extremely thankful for Sherry’s husband Wayne
and Billy absolutely adored his two grandchildren: Heath and Heather. All around
us today are people that Billy “adopted.” No, they were not made heirs in a legal
sense of the word. Instead, they were given something that most people can only
dream about. These men and woman, boys and girls were given a family that loved
them.
All throughout this time, Billy’s life continued to have its ups and downs. Work
at the petrochemical plants never was easy. Close friends died in accidents and the
chemicals permanently damaged his lungs. He had to fight to receive his Veteran’s
benefits. Even with all of this hurt that he had experienced, Billy continued to see
God both in the world and in his life.
Despite the shortcomings, the failures, and the constant pain in his own life,
Billy did not turn God away. Before Billy’s successful open surgery, he joined us
in a prayer for healing. Likewise, after the surgery, we all gave thanks for God’s
actions in Billy’s life.
Even with everything that Billy did for those people around him, he never

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trusted in own his ability to work his way into God’s good graces. Instead, Billy
relied on God to do what God had promised in Billy’s baptism. There in the water
and in the Word, God not only drowned everyone of Billy’s shortcomings and
faults but God also gave Billy the gift of eternal life. We hold fast to these promises
and we know that Billy is with God in that amazing garden where death is no more.
Gardening is hard work. You must plant, weed, and water before the harvest
can come. Billy knew that. He accepted the challenges in his life and he worked
his whole life to make the world a better place. Because of Billy and his dedication
to gardening and his family, we all can see God a little bit better.
Billy now knows clearly, what we still trust by faith. When all is said and done,
that day is coming for each of us when we will no longer have to look for God in
the garden. On that final day, we will know with certainty that God has found us,
through His Son Jesus Christ. At that time, we will look God in the face and we
will walk with Him the garden forever.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”2

2
Philippians 4:7.