Here's the sermon that I preached at St Andrew’s Wickford this morning:
Imagine you were King or Queen for a day – what would you want to do with the power, fame and money you had?
We know well what Queen Elizabeth II did with that role and that opportunity. The new Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, in her 21st birthday broadcast from Capetown, on April 21, 1947, gave this message to the Empire:
“There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors – a noble motto, ‘I serve.’
Those words were an inspiration to many bygone heirs to the throne.
I can make my solemn act of dedication with a whole Empire listening. I should like to make that dedication now; it is very simple.
I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great Imperial family, to which we all belong, but I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do. I know that your support will be unfailingly given.
God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.”
She chose to be the servant Queen and, with deep commitment, fulfilled that role throughout her life, which is why she is so loved by the people of this nation and so missed on her death.
Her prayer was that God would help her to make good that vow and it is to God that she turns for inspiration as she has sought to fulfil it. The Queen’s personal commitment to her role as monarch, and her service to the people of the United Kingdom, are grounded in a deep faith in Jesus Christ which is an inspiration to countless citizens of nation and Commonwealth. She has said that, for her, “the teachings of Christ” and her “own personal accountability before God provide a framework” in which she tries to lead her life (Queen and Country BBC1 08.05.02). She has said that: “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace … is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role-model of reconciliation and forgiveness. He stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none.”
In his sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral for the service celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that the Queen “has shown a quality of joy in the happiness of others” and “has responded with … generosity …showing honour to countless local communities and individuals of every background and class and race.”
There can, therefore, be no better way for us to remember Queen Elizabeth with gratitude than to take this opportunity to dedicate ourselves anew to the service of God, and to seek the common good through love for our neighbours near and far. As the Archbishop suggested in his Diamond Jubilee sermon, we should seek “the rebirth of an energetic, generous spirit of dedication to the common good and the public service, the rebirth of the recognition that we live less than human lives if we think just of our own individual good.”
It's not always easy to serve and think of others consistently as the Queen sought to do. We know that there were times of great sadness and difficulty in her life when, no doubt, she found it more difficult to keep her promise to serve all those she reigned over. In our Psalm today we read, ‘My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth’ and in 1 Peter 4:9 we read, ‘If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides.’ The Queen spoke often about how she asked for God’s help in undertaking her highly important role. She knew that she needed great strength to be able to serve others in the way she had committed to. What can we learn from the Queen’s example, I wonder, in asking for God’s help?
In her 2011 Christmas Message she said:
“Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: 'Fear not', they urged, 'we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
'For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.'
Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves - from our recklessness or our greed.
God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.
Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love.
It is my prayer that … we might all find room in our lives … for the love of God through Christ our Lord.”
That is what we need, not just to live a life of service in the here and now, but also for a life in eternity together with God; that future life that Queen Elizabeth has now begun. We heard in our Gospel reading of Jesus saying that, ‘it is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.’ Jesus gathers up all that is Christ-like and life-giving about our lives and raises it again for eternity. In the Epistle we heard the hope that ‘what is mortal may be swallowed up by life’; the hope that the reality of our mortal life will be become part of the more than that is our eternal life. Then, in St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we read that faith, hope and love remain; in other words, they continue into eternity. Everything that we do of faith, hope and love in this life survives into eternity and our future life with God.
That what we believe about Queen Elizabeth and her willingness to be our Servant Queen; that she takes with her into eternity all that was Christ-like about her life of service. That also needs to be our response to her death and our reflection on her life; that we might dedicate ourselves anew to the service of God, and to seek the common good through love for our neighbours near and far, not just because it benefits our world and society, but also because it has eternal consequences as all that is of faith, hope and love about our lives will also go with us into eternity. As a result, we should re-dedicate ourselves to acts of faith, hope and love and to lives of service of others.
Queen Elizabeth provides us with a marvellous example of a life committed to the service of others. She also provides us with a marvellous example of trust in God for the strength we need to live that life of service. Finally, through both her trust and service, she shows us something of the nature of eternity where all that has been Christ-like and life-giving about our lives will be gathered up and amplified in our future life together with God.
Imagine you were King or Queen for a day – what would you want to do with the power, fame and money you had?
We know well what Queen Elizabeth II did with that role and that opportunity. The new Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, in her 21st birthday broadcast from Capetown, on April 21, 1947, gave this message to the Empire:
“There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors – a noble motto, ‘I serve.’
Those words were an inspiration to many bygone heirs to the throne.
I can make my solemn act of dedication with a whole Empire listening. I should like to make that dedication now; it is very simple.
I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great Imperial family, to which we all belong, but I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do. I know that your support will be unfailingly given.
God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.”
She chose to be the servant Queen and, with deep commitment, fulfilled that role throughout her life, which is why she is so loved by the people of this nation and so missed on her death.
Her prayer was that God would help her to make good that vow and it is to God that she turns for inspiration as she has sought to fulfil it. The Queen’s personal commitment to her role as monarch, and her service to the people of the United Kingdom, are grounded in a deep faith in Jesus Christ which is an inspiration to countless citizens of nation and Commonwealth. She has said that, for her, “the teachings of Christ” and her “own personal accountability before God provide a framework” in which she tries to lead her life (Queen and Country BBC1 08.05.02). She has said that: “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace … is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role-model of reconciliation and forgiveness. He stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none.”
In his sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral for the service celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that the Queen “has shown a quality of joy in the happiness of others” and “has responded with … generosity …showing honour to countless local communities and individuals of every background and class and race.”
There can, therefore, be no better way for us to remember Queen Elizabeth with gratitude than to take this opportunity to dedicate ourselves anew to the service of God, and to seek the common good through love for our neighbours near and far. As the Archbishop suggested in his Diamond Jubilee sermon, we should seek “the rebirth of an energetic, generous spirit of dedication to the common good and the public service, the rebirth of the recognition that we live less than human lives if we think just of our own individual good.”
It's not always easy to serve and think of others consistently as the Queen sought to do. We know that there were times of great sadness and difficulty in her life when, no doubt, she found it more difficult to keep her promise to serve all those she reigned over. In our Psalm today we read, ‘My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth’ and in 1 Peter 4:9 we read, ‘If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides.’ The Queen spoke often about how she asked for God’s help in undertaking her highly important role. She knew that she needed great strength to be able to serve others in the way she had committed to. What can we learn from the Queen’s example, I wonder, in asking for God’s help?
In her 2011 Christmas Message she said:
“Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: 'Fear not', they urged, 'we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
'For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.'
Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves - from our recklessness or our greed.
God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.
Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love.
It is my prayer that … we might all find room in our lives … for the love of God through Christ our Lord.”
That is what we need, not just to live a life of service in the here and now, but also for a life in eternity together with God; that future life that Queen Elizabeth has now begun. We heard in our Gospel reading of Jesus saying that, ‘it is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.’ Jesus gathers up all that is Christ-like and life-giving about our lives and raises it again for eternity. In the Epistle we heard the hope that ‘what is mortal may be swallowed up by life’; the hope that the reality of our mortal life will be become part of the more than that is our eternal life. Then, in St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we read that faith, hope and love remain; in other words, they continue into eternity. Everything that we do of faith, hope and love in this life survives into eternity and our future life with God.
That what we believe about Queen Elizabeth and her willingness to be our Servant Queen; that she takes with her into eternity all that was Christ-like about her life of service. That also needs to be our response to her death and our reflection on her life; that we might dedicate ourselves anew to the service of God, and to seek the common good through love for our neighbours near and far, not just because it benefits our world and society, but also because it has eternal consequences as all that is of faith, hope and love about our lives will also go with us into eternity. As a result, we should re-dedicate ourselves to acts of faith, hope and love and to lives of service of others.
Queen Elizabeth provides us with a marvellous example of a life committed to the service of others. She also provides us with a marvellous example of trust in God for the strength we need to live that life of service. Finally, through both her trust and service, she shows us something of the nature of eternity where all that has been Christ-like and life-giving about our lives will be gathered up and amplified in our future life together with God.
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Bill Fay - Love Will Remain.
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