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To
compensate for the grief of losing him, we've the joy, the privilege
and the pleasure of knowing him. A joy, of which, we become especially
aware of at this moment as we fix Tim's living image in our minds
and recall to our memories the very personal qualities that made
that man unique...oh unique! Tim was a one off...it is the uniqueness,
the separateness of each human life that is the basis of our grief
in our bereavement. If you look through the whole world, and there
is no one like the man you have just lost. But Tim Jacobs, he still
lives on in your memories, and no longer a visible partner in your
lives, he still lives on in your memories and will remain a member
of your family or your social circle, or your work brigade, through
the influence he has had upon each one of you here today and the
very special part that Tim has played in your lives. So in a way
Tim does live on through those of you who knew him, and the ripples
of his life, the ripples of that life, will continue in both known
and unknown ways.
From
those who have gone on before, with those of us present here today,
and to those still yet to be born. Tim has moved in the long procession
of humankind. He has played his brief part in the Great Human Adventure;
the Stupendous Human Drama. Inevitably though, you will find your
world a changed place without Tim, a poorer one without him but
please please remember, and hold on to this...it will always have
been a richer world, just because Tim was once a vital part of it.
Organised
religion played no part in Tim's life, certainly of recent years,
and it might have been just inappropriate, or hypocritical to have
had a religious ceremony for him here this afternoon. But just how
do we measure a person's spirituality, the essence of a human being,
of any man? You have to mark me among the "don't knows",
as a Humanist I don't know. Can it be measured by such things as
compassion, or generosity of spirit, or the many friendships you've
made in a 34 year lifespan, or your devotion to your family? For
many of us, if these are some of the criteria we use perhaps Tim
Jacobs was a believer, but his church was the church of humanity
and his life was one well worthy to be called a human being.
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