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Today we gather in sorrow, but also in gratitude for the life of our friend and brother Faustino “Jessie” Garcia – known to his family at Junior.
We commend to God a man who was known
not by titles or applause, but by the steady witness of his life — a net setter
for tribal fishermen, a talented artist, a father, a friend, a beloved brother,
and humble soul who made his home among the Tulalip people for many years.
Though Texas first gave him breath,
Tulalip became the waters where his spirit learned to belong.
And maybe that is one of the great
mysteries of God’s providence: sometimes the Lord plants us far from where we
began so that we may become exactly who we were meant to be.
The readings chosen today speak deeply
to the life of this good man.
In the Book of Job, we hear the cry of a
man acquainted with hardship:
“I know that my Redeemer lives.”
Job says these words not in comfort, but
in suffering. He speaks them while standing in grief, confusion, and loss. Yet
somehow faith still burns beneath the ashes.
Anyone who has worked the waters
understands something about that kind of faith. A tribal fisherman knows
patience. He knows uncertainty. He knows early mornings in cold weather, tides
that do not cooperate, storms that come unexpectedly, and long hours when there
seems to be little reward for hard labor.
Yet every fisherman returns to the water
again.
Why?
Because hope is stronger than
discouragement.
That same perseverance shaped the life
we honor today. Jessie was not a loud man. Not someone demanding attention. He
simply kept showing up — setting nets, creating beauty through his art, helping
where needed, living quietly among the people he loved. And his smile was a
gift to everyone he met.
There is holiness in that kind of
ordinary faithfulness.
The world often celebrates power,
wealth, and fame. But Jesus, in today’s Gospel, gives us a very different
vision of greatness.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
“Blessed are the meek.”
“Blessed are the merciful.”
“Blessed are the clean of heart.”
Those Beatitudes sound very much like
the man we remember today.
The humble rarely realize their own
greatness because they are too busy loving others.
Jessie knew how to work with his hands.
He understood the rhythm of nature and tide. He created art because beauty
lived inside him. And he lived close to the earth and water — places where God
often speaks most clearly.
Artists and fish net setters actually
have much in common. Both require patience. Both require vision. Both depend
upon mysteries larger than themselves.
A fisherman casts nets into waters he
cannot fully see.
An artist reaches for beauty that cannot
fully be explained.
And both acts, in their own way, become
prayers.
Psalm 23 tells us:
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is
nothing I shall want.”
For a man who lived close to the waters,
these words carry special meaning. The Shepherd leads us beside restful waters.
He guides us through dark valleys. He prepares a table before us.
And finally, when our work is done, He
brings us home.
That is what we trust today.
Not that death has won.
Not that life simply ends.
But that Christ, who died and rose
again, has gone ahead of us.
Saint
Paul tells us in Romans:
“If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.”
Through baptism, our brother Jessie was
united to Jesus. The waters, poured over him long ago, became a promise — that
death would never have the final word.
The nets he set throughout his life
gathered fish from the sea. But now Christ, the true Fisherman, gathers him
into eternal life.
And perhaps that image is fitting today.
After years of labor…
after years of tides and seasons…
after carrying burdens quietly…
after creating beauty and giving love in humble ways...
the Lord now says:
“Well done. Come and rest.”
To his family and friends: grief is real
because love is real. The empty chair, the silence, the memories — these hurt
because Jessie mattered deeply.
But do not forget this:
the Beatitudes promise that the gentle ones are never lost to God.
The world may overlook humble men.
God never does.
And so we entrust Jessie Garcia now to
the Creator who formed him, to the Savior who redeemed him, and to the Spirit
who guided him through every tide of life.
May the angels lead him into paradise.
May the saints welcome him home.
And may Christ, the risen Lord, grant
him eternal rest.
Amen.
