Commemoration Service Sermon

Here is the sermon I preached at the parish Commemoration Services marking the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II:

If you've spent any time over the past couple of days watching the news on T.V. or online, or reading the newspapers , or listening to it on the radio, or even looking at social media – you'll have been bombarded with information about the late Queen's life and reign, and stories people tell about meeting her. And of course we have heard a lot of it already this year as we celebrated that historic milestone, the Platinum Jubilee of her reign just a few short months ago. I don't have anything original to add to that huge volume of information, anecdote and commentary (and you can still read my article on the Platinum Jubilee on my blog – please do like, subscribe and share! [you can also read my article on the occasion of her 90th birthday]) - I don't have anything original to say, but I'll keep in line with the tradition of 24hr news coverage, of which someone said “It's full of people with nothing to say, but who insist on saying it!”

As I've been listening over the past few days, two things have struck me: one about her life and one about her death. So firstly about her life. We have a tendency not to want to speak ill of the dead, but in the case of Queen Elizabeth II there seems to be very little to speak ill of her about. Even those who don't agree with the institution of the monarchy, have expressed their admiration and respect for the person of Queen Elizabeth. It seems that everyone that has met her has spoken fondly of their memories, and even those who haven't met her describe her in glowing terms. Words like 'dutiful', 'fun', 'selfless', 'tireless' and 'warm' are often used; and people describe how nervous they'd been to meet her, but how she made them feel relaxed and at ease. Others say how she put the 'Great' into Great Britain, or the 'United' into the United Kingdom. The new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, called her “the rock on which modern Britain was built.”

One aspect that occasionally, but not often, gets mentioned is the deep, profound and living faith that the late Queen had. She was able to be the rock on which modern Britain was built precisely because she built her own life on that of the Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ. She would often in her Christmas speeches say how her life was shaped by the example of Jesus and how she was sustained by her relationship with him. She was a faithful Queen – not just faithful in her duty to her people throughout the world but full of faith in the God who called her to her rôle. And that faith shone through her. Gavin Ashenden who was one of her chaplains said “The reason you like her is because you can smell God in her” and that seems to be true whether you met her or not.

He went on to say that her character, all those qualities people mention over and over again, are what Christians call the 'fruit of the Spirit' - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – when someone is full of God's Holy Spirit, this is what they are like.

So her life was a reflection and the consequence of her faith in Jesus. But what about her death?

You've probably seen various pictures or heard poems describing her death. They usually involve either Prince Philip coming to get her, or Paddington Bear leading her to heaven. I'm not sure what the theological significance of Paddington Bear is, but the idea that those who believe and trust in Jesus in this life will be resurrected and join with all those faithful followers of Jesus from throughout the ages in eternal life, is a deep rooted and biblical idea. But as we heard in our reading from John's gospel (John 14:1-6,27), it is Jesus himself that will come to get us so that we will be where he is. And the picture in that reading is of a house with many rooms – something that Queen Elizabeth was very familiar with! And it would not be inaccurate to describe this house as a palace, because it is the house of the King of kings, but in this palace there are no protocols to be followed, there is no ranking, there are no barriers or police cordons between the people and the King. As our first reading (Revelation 21:1-7) tells us God will dwell with us and he will be so close to us that he will be able to wipe away every tear from our eyes.

As a faithful follower of Jesus, this was Queen Elizabeth's confident hope and expectation, that at her death, her King and Saviour Jesus would come to her and take her to live with him forever. And ever so gently she would encourage us who are left to build our lives on the Rock that is Jesus, to turn to him in repentance and faith, that we too might live in that eternal palace, and meet her there, but most 
importantly to meet our Saviour, the Almighty and Eternal King, Jesus.



Here's the link to the service itself:

and here's the Order of Service:

11th September: the day that changed the world forever?

Here's my article for Broughton's September magazine:

It has become this generation's 'JFK' moment: where were you when the World Trade Centre was attacked? I remember I was working at Liverpool Hope University College at the time and we were watching the events unfold on a large screen in the Reception area that was usually used for announcements and PR. Then in the evening I was in a bar celebrating a friend's birthday, whilst the aftermath was playing on the small screens around the room.

Particularly in the USA, 11th September 2001 is often called “the day that changed the world forever.” It is true that many things have changed since those attacks; airport security, the 'War on Terror', attitudes to immigration to name but a few. The attacks also affected the USA psychologically, given the audacity of the attacks and the symbolism of the targets: these were strikes at what the USA prized as its successes: its economic strength (the WTC); its military strength (the Pentagon); and its system of government (the failed attempt on the Capitol).

Although these were attacks on the USA, they were also seen as an attack on the whole of Western civilisation and its reverence for economic and military power, and its governance.   As such there was a brief moment after the attacks when the question was asked: “Why do they hate us so much?” which could have given rise to a humbler view of ourselves as we see that our way is not the only nor the most perfect way of doing things. But quickly thoughts turned to using our economic and military power to punish and avenge, and also try to impose our Western liberal democracy on other cultures.

So it could be argued that 11th September 2001 was the day that changed the world forever. But the same could be argued for many important days in history, and also for little-known days in history. Just as you could argue that the Battle of Waterloo changed the world forever, so too could the day that Napoleon was born, or the day his parents met etc. The things you and I will do today will change the world forever.

But one day truly could be said to be the day the world changed forever: the day Jesus was born. The visible effects of his birth are obvious: our dating of years refers to his birth, the movement he inspired provides the foundation of Western Civilisation – our concepts of justice, human dignity, compassion, as well as science, education and morality. But more importantly, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17) and “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). It is only through Jesus that justice will be done and all the wrongs of the world, which are caused by the sins all of us have, will be put right. His birth was the day that really changed the world forever. And some scholars say Biblical, historical, and astronomical evidence point to that day being in 3 B.C. on Wednesday, 11th September.