This building was Dick’s place of pilgrimage, his holy place. Shortly before he died I offered to bring him communion but he felt that it would not somehow be right detached from the place where he spent so much time reflecting on his faith, his motives, and the rich brew of his life.
His faith was a response to that most crucial of all questions, ‘Why is there anything rather than nothing?’ For some there is no need of an answer to that question beyond the physics and the chemistry but for Dick the question ‘why?’ went much deeper. He felt that the complexity of the universe and the miracle of life on earth was a mystery demanding response. The awe he felt, could not be satisfied by those who say it is all an accident. Nevertheless, the awe he felt did not need a complete set of explanations. Explanations would undermine the adventure and clearly Dick experienced his spiritual life as a kind of adventure as dangerous in some ways as his involvement in the war we have now heard so much about.
There is a famous icon of the spiritual life in which a group of monks are climbing a ladder set up to heaven and being attacked by demons, who try to pull them off the ladder. Dick would never have seen himself as anything like one of those monks but he did see the spiritual life as a stair-way to heaven on which he struggled to gain the first step, climbing not to some other world but to a higher state of wisdom, understanding and generosity in this life. Life should be lived to the full (press ups and all). Life should be lived ‘victoriously’ with a daily awareness of whether one is winning or losing, morally speaking. The analysis of his own motives was enormously important it must have been what kept him going through the appalling moral challenge of warfare. It was also what kept him humble for to himself he seemed only ever to be on the first step of the spiritual staircase. Our understanding of the world always starts from the achievements of others we are dwarves on the shoulders of giants. But in the in the moral and spiritual life Dick believed we always have to start afresh applying, testing, learning for ourselves. That’s what made it an adventure.
Of course there are companions on the journey. Some years ago Dick described parts of his life in a series of Sunday tea-time talks held here in the crypt. And one of the many things that people remember from that talk was the fact that he could hardly mention Gay without his voice cracking with emotion. We who heard him each year reading the words of remembrance on Remembrance Sunday will know how emotional a man he was. The voice would crack as we knew he must be remembering many lost companions and we willed him to get through it.
Most of what I have said refers to the inner man and yet that spirituality expressed itself in the fabric of this church not least in the 440 hassocks he re-hung, the cleaning team he led, the many odd jobs he did, the plays he lit and Gay stage managed. Though his contributions to the drama were mostly off stage it seems appropriate that he should have once appeared in a turban as one of the wise men bearing gifts in Follow the Star. For he brought many gifts to this church, to his family, his country and his creator.
One of the many mysteries Dick pondered was the nature of the afterlife. He felt I think that when we die the divine essence in us returns to God coloured by what we have done with our lives. In a moment we shall pray that God will remember for good this much loved and delightful man as we remember him. But we remember only in part whereas the creator remembers, puts together, heals and treasures up the whole of what we are. So now for a moment as we pray for Dick we meet in the mind of God and rejoice in him as he rejoiced in all those he knew and loved.
DIck Rubinstein
Stephen Tucker