Dear friends
When we stand and sing the words of our National Anthem we join in a prayer. As the ceremonies and celebrations of the Kings Coronation take place this weekend, including the Eucharist, we will see again just how the monarchy and the governance of our nation express a Christian understanding of the world.
The golden and bejewelled symbols of monarchy, the orb, sceptre, rod, and crown all have the cross of Christ (or sometimes, a dove for the Holy Spirit) at their apex. They show, in their magnificent splendour, the weight of responsibility of authority exercised under God and by God’s grace. This is also repeated in the ‘Collect for the Sovereign’ in the Book of Common Prayer which prays that the King might ‘know whose minister he is.’ In other words, that the King may not forget that he rules under God’s rule, and as God’s servant.
At my ordination as deacon, aged just 27, I took a loyal oath to Her Majesty the Queen.
‘I, Catherine Ogle, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors, according to law: So, help me God.’
Honestly, it was a necessary thing, and I remember that it didn’t make much sense at the time. But as the years passed, the example set by the late Queen, of steadfast and faithful service did have an increasingly powerful effect. I know that I am not alone in saying that the Queen came to command not just my respect, but also my deep admiration and affection.
At her Platinum Jubilee, the Queen signed herself, ‘Your servant, Elizabeth R.’ Her service was seen not just in what she did, but the way that she set aside her own needs, ambitions, and preferences to serve others and to serve the nation.
In this tradition of service, the Coronation Service on Saturday will begin with a greeting by a child, ‘in the name of the King of Kings’, and the King will make this powerful reply, ‘In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served, but to serve.’
In a world in which power is held on to and wielded by tyrants, its rather wonderful to see humility and service being placed centre stage. The Monarch brings checks and balances to the State. As a Leader in The Church Times puts it, ‘The focus of loyalty, the arbiter of honour, a person to whom the Prime Minister defers, is a constitutional monarch who is unable to impose his will on any of his subjects.’
I do hope that you have a very good Coronation weekend, however you spend it. Please come in person or join our Thanksgiving Service on Friday evening at 7.00pm and the Coronation Service itself on big screens in the Cathedral on Saturday morning. I pray that this will be a time of peace, unity, and new hope for us all.
I’ll close with our King’s Coronation prayer and hope that we will all make this our prayer too:
The King’s Prayer
GOD of compassion and mercy whose Son was sent not to be served but to serve,
give grace that I may find in thy service perfect freedom.
and in that freedom knowledge of thy truth.
Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children,
of every faith and conviction,
that together we may discover the ways of gentleness.
and be led into the paths of peace,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Amen
With blessings and best wishes,
The Very Revd Catherine Ogle
Dean of Winchester
