This weekend
sees three days of birthday celebrations for the Queen.
Although she reached her 90th in April the national celebrations have been clustered around the traditional Trooping the Colour on Saturday – with a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s on Friday and the Patron’s Lunch in The Mall on Sunday.
‘Monarchy’ is something of a mute point in the bible because even though God, especially in the Jewish scriptures, regularly gets a crown along with majestic acclamations, he never the less isn’t keen to grant Israel her first king. Saul’s reign ends in tears and doesn’t even establish the hereditary principle – with David’s anointing being nothing less than a completely fresh start.
Although she reached her 90th in April the national celebrations have been clustered around the traditional Trooping the Colour on Saturday – with a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s on Friday and the Patron’s Lunch in The Mall on Sunday.
‘Monarchy’ is something of a mute point in the bible because even though God, especially in the Jewish scriptures, regularly gets a crown along with majestic acclamations, he never the less isn’t keen to grant Israel her first king. Saul’s reign ends in tears and doesn’t even establish the hereditary principle – with David’s anointing being nothing less than a completely fresh start.
I think
there is little doubt amongst the commentators that our own Queen views the
vows she made at her Coronation in 1953 as sacrosanct. That service had at its centre not simply the
crowning but also the communion – because almost as soon as the crown of St
Edward was placed upon the young queen’s head, she had it removed and she and
Prince Philip knelt at the High Altar of Westminster Abbey and received bread
and wine.
Elizabeth II seems to take her personal faith very seriously.
On Maundy Thursday she never misses the service, held at a different cathedral each year (one of those traditions she started) at which she distributes bags of Maundy Money to the same number of recipients as her age. A gesture that is meant to encapsulate the greatest ‘command’ of the bible to love God and serve neighbour.
And at Christmas the Queen has become more and more up front about her faith during her traditional broadcast to the Commonwealth. Even I’ve noticed ‘sermon’ characteristics in her presentation over recent years.
All of this is reflected in a super booklet we are distributing at AFC this weekend to our ‘young people’ entitled ‘The Servant Queen and the King she serves’ – a book for which the Queen has written the first ‘Forward’ of her long reign.
On Sunday we will continue to give thanks for this gracious and faithful servant of God – and pray for his continued blessing to rest upon her.
With best wishes,
Elizabeth II seems to take her personal faith very seriously.
On Maundy Thursday she never misses the service, held at a different cathedral each year (one of those traditions she started) at which she distributes bags of Maundy Money to the same number of recipients as her age. A gesture that is meant to encapsulate the greatest ‘command’ of the bible to love God and serve neighbour.
And at Christmas the Queen has become more and more up front about her faith during her traditional broadcast to the Commonwealth. Even I’ve noticed ‘sermon’ characteristics in her presentation over recent years.
All of this is reflected in a super booklet we are distributing at AFC this weekend to our ‘young people’ entitled ‘The Servant Queen and the King she serves’ – a book for which the Queen has written the first ‘Forward’ of her long reign.
On Sunday we will continue to give thanks for this gracious and faithful servant of God – and pray for his continued blessing to rest upon her.
With best wishes,
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