While there is scepticism whenever those who represent Caesar in the political realm invoke God, [and there is great wisdom in the consequent reticence displayed by politicians] it has been possible for the Queen with her very different role to be steadily more explicit in her Christmas broadcasts about her own lively faith in Jesus Christ which sustains her work.
The cost of this call and way of life is so great that it is proper to regard it in sacrificial terms. As a notable republican said to me the other day ”“ “I don’t believe that we should ask anyone to do the job”
But the job has been done with conspicuous dedication over the past sixty years. The Queen embodies the truth at the heart of our life as a nation that the kingdom of God and a humane society is built, yes by raw political power and programmes but also and perhaps most profoundly by the human touch, loving and unwearied service, attention to others.
Christian monarchy today embodies not a set of policies or the pinnacle of a hierarchical social order but a life, a fully human life, lived in the presence and calling of God who dignifies all humanity. Such a life which is open to us all is the essential ingredient from which the Kingdom; God’s plan for the human race, grows.
The spectacle of such a life properly evokes loyalty.
An Interesting Look Back to the Bishop of London's Diamond Jubilee Accession Service Sermon
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Wonderful sermon! I can’t remember whether as a child I watched Elizabeth’s coronation, but I did save from the following Sunday’s newpaper magazine section the paper doll cut-outs of the Queen and her clothing for the event. In the mid-1980s I gave this section to a British friend who had immigrated to this country, and I still remember how touched she was by my gesture.
As both Her Majesty and I get older, I am struck by her physical resemblance to my late mother (whose ancestors were largely English and Scottish), thus, seeing photos of the Queen brings me a sense of family for which I am grateful. I am thoroughly American, yet I prize my British roots. Elizabeth II is a treasure, for the British and for us all! Long may she reign!
It would be splendid if our next Archbishop of Canterbury could preach such a heartfelt and theologically sound sermon. Thank you, Bp Chartres. God Save the Queen!