Today we stand on the edge of history – a moment of transition, a between time, a time above all of contrast and paradox.
Just as time seems to have stopped, as it always does, on the death of someone who is so significant in our lives, so it races on apace, for with any ending comes an immediate need to secure the new beginning.
So, just as we are reeling from the sudden end of these 70 glorious years of our dearly beloved Queen, so we are already caught up in the unfolding drama, pageantry and yes, excitement of the beginning of our new King.
We are full of sorrow and anxiety, a realisation of just how much we had taken for granted – such is always the way in bereavement – it is hard to accept that the end is come even when we have seen it coming – and yet we are also suddenly, vividly aware of just how precious is the one we have lost and it is as if our vision is clearer, our understanding sharper, our heart deeper, our love greater.
In the midst of sorrow we are overwhelmed with joy, in the midst of life we are in death, in the midst of darkness we can see the light.
The light that is, was, our Queen, shone brightly, and we can see that now more clearly than ever.
What extraordinary tributes we are hearing from those who have known and loved her best – how moving, how loving, how full of dignity and grace were the words of our new King, in speaking of his mother, the late Queen.
And so many other stories, of precious and cherished memories of conversations, meetings, encounters with a woman who demonstrated such wit and warmth, devotion and dedication, humour and hope.
So many have given testimony to her wisdom and knowledge and also her sense of fun, even mischief – she demonstrated exactly that fullness of life which is our destiny in God’s love.
And of course all this not given to her on a plate as part of the luxury and privilege of monarchy – far from it. Our Queen was no stranger to tragedy and struggle, her life was not a bed of roses, reclining on a gold and velvet throne – she has worked every day of her life, giving herself in service to us all – for this was her duty. Not something forced upon her unwillingly, despite the fact all this could have passed her and her immediate family by, but something accepted as a gift of God – a calling and vocation to spend, in every sense, her life, for the benefit of others.
The weight of such a calling is unimaginable to most of us, even to those of us who share in some smaller way a vocation under God, and as Christians we all do that.
But one which our Queen knew only too well she couldn’t bear by herself – as she saw even before her own accession – ‘I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone’ she said – as, on her 21st Birthday, she spoke of how, in effect, she would surrender herself entirely, to become ‘The Crown’, the anointed monarch and sovereign, whose life is given for others.
We heard this too in the speech that King Charles made at his accession yesterday at St James’ Palace.
And we hear this also in our readings today – looking not to our own interests but to the interests of others, doing nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in all humility. Jesus speaks of how the Son can do nothing on his own, but is empowered and enabled by his Father.
This self-emptying to allow a greater purpose to overtake us has been exemplified throughout the Queen’s entire life, and she, as she so often described, was following the example of Jesus Christ, whose life and death and resurrection was, for her, the touchstone of her existence, the rock on which her own life of service was founded.
And through this comes the necessary strength to do, to be, to give, whatever is needed – in this recognition that we do not do it on our own but through God and by our shared endeavour, we find that we are never alone, whatever our circumstance, challenge or even despair.
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom then shall I be afraid?
In this strength and this light, the Queen was able to offer such a profound commitment as monarch and head of state, to her family, and to us all, and in this too, our new King takes up the mantle, with already evident this same sense of vocation accepted with extraordinary grace, and with such personal warmth and moving, loving tribute to his mother and whole family.
Today we are in the between time – when history stops and the future is yet to be written.
Just such a time was the between time after Jesus had died and before he had risen.
And with his rising came not just the future, so glorious it was beyond belief, but the rewriting of the past, the redemption of all that had gone before and all that will ever be.
Our beloved Queen is now caught up into that glory, and the next chapter of this new world begins.
God bless our Queen and God save the King!
Service: Reverend Michelle Dalliston. 11th September 2022. (St John The Baptist Church Peterborough UK)
Referenced Scripture: Psalm 27, Philippians 2:1-11, John 5:19-25