Here's the sermon I shared at
St Mary's Runwell this morning:
Charles: Our New King is a two-part Channel 4 documentary which shines a light on the new British monarch, told with an extensive collection of rare royal archive and revelatory interviews from those who know him. Part 1 explored the influence on him of his mother and father.
He shares many interests with
Prince Philip, as they were both artists and both were fascinated by wildlife, the Navy and young people. They shared concerns regarding the environment, while King Charles has his Prince’s Trust and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, so there are many ways in which they were similar.
Like his mother, the Queen,
King Charles has also highlighted the inspiration that his faith provides. In speaking of the Church of England, the Church in which his “own faith is so deeply rooted”, he has said that: “In that faith, and the values it inspires, I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government.” He then went on to say that: “As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.” He ended by saying that, “in carrying out the heavy task that has been laid upon me, and to which I now dedicate what remains to me of my life, I pray for the guidance and help of almighty God.”
In our Gospel reading (
John 14.1-14), Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” He is speaking of the way in which children – consciously or unconsciously – reflect aspects of their parents. We have a phrase to describe this – ‘a chip off the old block’. King Charles is, in many respects, a chip off the old block as he reflects aspects of both his parents in the way he has been formed and the things he says and does. More importantly, however, by allowing his life to be shaped by the values of the Christian faith, he is also, to some extent, a chip off the old block when it comes to Jesus’ Father, too.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the way by which we can come to see what God is actually like and so become like him. That is the reason why Jesus comes as a human being to model God to us, so that we have the opportunity to begin to reflect something of God in the way that we live our lives.
Rightly, that is the focus of many of the
prayers written for the Coronation:
Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,
bless, we pray, Camilla the Queen Consort,
William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales,
and all the Royal Family.
Endue them with your Holy Spirit;
enrich them with your heavenly grace;
prosper them with all happiness;
and bring them to your everlasting kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
In such prayers, we recognise that, if we are ruled by those who genuinely reflect something of God in their lives, then our experience of the monarchy is likely to be positive in a way that is not the case when our rulers act selfishly, rather than from the heart of a servant of God and the people. Such was the case with the late Queen Elizabeth II. In his sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral for the service celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, the then 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.” At her Funeral Service, the current Archbishop of Canterbury reflected that: “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.”
So, our prayer for King Charles and the Royal Family at this time should be that they reflect in their lives the nature of God as fully as possible. Praying that prayer, however, should also challenge us to make that prayer our own, too. The
original Greek word for Christian is “Christianos” which comes from two Greek words; Christ means “anointed” and tian means “little.” So, the word “Christian” literally means “little anointed ones.” During his life Jesus was called the “messiah” which meant “the anointed one” and we are to be his “little anointed ones”, anointed by his Holy Spirit to represent Him in this world as his body – his hands and feet, eyes and ears – on earth. To do that we, too, need to become chips off the old block when it comes to God, his Father, or as St Paul puts it in his letter to the Ephesians, "imitators of God".
How does that happen? How do our lives come to reflect something of God? Firstly, we need to put all our trust in Jesus and in what he has done and said. By doing so, we make him central to our lives. Secondly, we need to live by every word that comes from his mouth; we need to read all we can about Jesus and then by put into practice what we have discovered in our lives. Thirdly, as we eat the bread and drink the wine in Communion, we are taking Jesus and all that his death and resurrection means into lives in order to transform us to be like him and to live as he lived.
As Queen Elizabeth said in her 2008 Christmas Broadcast: “I hope that, like me, you will be comforted by the example of Jesus of Nazareth who, often in circumstances of great adversity, managed to live an outgoing, unselfish and sacrificial life … He makes it clear that genuine human happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than receiving; more in serving than in being served.”
As we celebrate the coronation of King Charles III this weekend, may we take the opportunity to pray that our rulers reflect the God from whom all true authority actually derives and pray, too, that we will shape our lives on that same God, allowing him to shape and mould us that we, too, become chips off the old block. Let us pray:
Gracious God,
in company with our King,
we rededicate ourselves to your service.
Take our minds and think through them,
take our lips and speak through them,
take our hearts and set them on fire
with love for you and your kingdom;
that here we may have your peace,
and in the world to come may see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Make A Joyful Noise – The Coronation Anthem by Andrew Lloyd Webber
