The minister writes… (from our October 22 newsletter)
Dear friends,
As Abraham Lincoln was fond of saying, ‘This too shall pass.’ It’s a very comforting saying in times of trial to know that the situation we find ourselves in won’t last forever. It’s also a reminder to enjoy the moment when things are going well, because that time of joy will also pass. Life continually moves on. Change may be dreaded or longed for, but it is inevitable.
During the last few weeks, from the moment we first learned of the death of our Queen to the final farewell (for the public at least) at St George’s Chapel, we have experienced times of sorrow, nostalgia, reminiscing, community spirit and national pride. Some will have been reminded of the loss of their own loved ones and in that reminding have perhaps grieved afresh. Others will have appreciated the expressions of Christian faith, both in the words spoken by the Queen over the years and the words said about her since her death and at her funeral. Images on our screens of pomp and pageantry have been contrasted with the simple human grief etched on the faces of her sons and daughter as they made that long, slow march from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch.
As the symbols of monarchy: the orb, the sceptre and the crown were taken from the top of her coffin and placed on the chapel altar we were reminded that nothing earthly lasts forever. Her death marks the end of an era. Yet, already, we are stepping into a new one.
In all that has been said and written about our late Queen, these words from Mark Greene, Mission Champion at LICC, author of The Queen’s Way and co-author of The Servant Queen and the King she serves have particularly resonated with me:
“There is certainly no doubt about the identity of the King our Queen served. Nor is there any doubt that the prayer that her people have so often prayed (perhaps without even realising that it was a prayer) was answered. God saved our Queen. Our Queen was
‘gracious’ and ‘noble’ and ‘victorious’ in the things that really matter – hope and faith in Christ, love of God and of the people she’d been empowered to serve.”
We have lost a Queen who was, for the nation, a constant in a sea of change but, even as we mourn her passing and pray for her son, our new king, we are reminded that all things earthly pass away. It is only God who is eternally unchanging. HE and he alone is our rock and safe refuge. He and he alone is our constant. Jesus Christ is the King of kings and if we look to him and place our trust in him, just as Elizabeth did, we can do no finer thing.
Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place
Till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love and praise.
With every blessing,
Sharon