Sunday 18th September 2022 - the Eve of Queen’s Elizabeth 11 being laid to rest.
Reading Luke 1: 39-56
On the day the Queen died (8th
September) the Church was celebrating ‘The Feast of the Birthday of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.’
Now of course we don’t know when Mary was born. And yet it gives us an opportunity to reflect that for Jesus to be borne of a woman, that woman needed to be born.
Picking up words from Mary’s
song we see that this was part of God’s plan and purpose.
“He has helped his servant
Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just
as he promised our ancestors.”
Reflect on Mary as a young
girl receiving this outstanding message and onerous responsibility and her
response…
“I am
the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then
the angel left her.”
Does this not remind us of
Princess Elizabeth as a young woman being told she was being called to the
highest office within the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
We have been hearing again of
her promise to fulfil and accept this calling to the best of her ability for
the rest of her life.
Our reading recalls Mary’s
visit to Elizabeth, no doubt to receive some comfort and wisdom.
Again, we know that Queen
Elizabeth 11 took advice from her mother.
And Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin,
as an older woman was also pregnant. As
an older woman she was fulfilling God’s call upon her life. She had said her
own yes, just as Mary had. Once more we
see evidence of God’s plans and purposes being worked out.
We have witnessed Queen
Elizabeth 11 continued dedication to duty and her faithfulness to her Christian
faith as an older woman.
Luke continues his Gospel with
the story with Jesus’ birth and then his being presented in the temple
according to the law.
Here we meet the aged Simeon who words are known to many of us in Latin, Nunc Dimittus, (Song of Simeon) and are part of Evensong in the Church of England and often used at funerals.
“Lord, now let your servant go
in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the
nations and the glory of your people Israel.”
And here we meet the aged
prophet Anna who spent many years in the temple and who upon seeing Jesus began
to sing God’s praises and speak about this child and what he would accomplish.
Increasingly as the Queen grew
older, we witnessed a growing acknowledgement of how much her faith in Jesus
meant to her. How much she looked to God for guidance. This was particularly noticeable in her
Christmass broadcasts.
The one book the Queen
endorsed was ‘The Servant Queen and the King she serves’ (still available from
the Bible Society -
The Blessed Virgin Mary, her
cousin Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 – all
these people may seem far removed from us.
However, God’s plans and
purposes work through all those who perhaps with fear and trembling say with Mary,
“I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be
fulfilled.”
‘You
are a unique and irreplaceable actor in the drama of human history, and Jesus
Christ has need of you to make known his salvific work in this particular place
and at this particular moment in history.’ Michael Quoist ‘The Christian Response’
The Scriptures makes it
manifestly clear that God seeks to work out his plans and purposes through the
human medium. We are invited to participate
in the work of the redemption of the cosmos, the establishment of God’s Kingdom
come upon earth.
Put simply, we will be playing
a part or playing apart.
C.S. Lewes put it this way, ‘There are only two kinds of people in the end:
those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says,
in the end, "Thy will be done" C S Lewes The Great Divorce
(1945)
A Prayer of St Benedict (480-547)
Gracious and
holy Father, please give me:
intellect to
understand you;
reason to discern you;
diligence to seek you;
wisdom to find you;
a spirit to know you;
a heart to meditate upon you;
ears to hear you;
eyes to see you;
a tongue to proclaim you;
a way of life pleasing to you;
patience to wait for you;
and perseverance to look for you.
Grant me:
a perfect end,
your holy presence.
A blessed resurrection,
And life everlasting.
