Images of Service
It’s less than 24 hours since the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh as I write this. The images are raw. The military precision of the procession in the bright sunshine. The Royal family, grieving but together. Most of all, the Queen in the double pain of her husband’s funeral with Covid restrictions. The first glimpse of her seated in the limousine, face-masked. Then most poignantly of all, sat in the Chapel isolated from her family members. Vulnerable and frail, she walked the painful path so many others
have done in these past months, her mourning cramped by Covid. Like her parents walking the war-time bombed-out streets of London, she was one of us.
As the years have passed I have become an increasing fan of the Queen. The saga of the Royal Family ebbs and flows – they are a family, after all. The Queen, for me, is in her own league. There have been moments when she appears to have found dealing with the changing world difficult. But the dedication, service and humility she has resiliently shown over so many decades is extraordinary.
The Queen is, of course, head of the Church of England. Her formal title is quite a mouthful – ‘Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England’ (I had to look this up!). She is therefore my most senior boss. As in all jobs, it helps if you respect your boss. Thankfully in this case this isn’t difficult.
My favourite portrait of Christ in Scripture is from St Paul in his Philippian letter, most likely quoting an early Christian hymn:
…though he was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself…
The Church has not always reflected this humility of Christ well, too often favouring lording it over more than serving people. The Queen’s instinct for humble service has made her a true Head. Prince Philip’s unwavering support for her helped her live this out.
Bugles rang out in St George’s Chapel at the funeral service’s end: the hope of resurrection is sounded. We are in the Easter season. As the Queen steps onward, in her service and in her own valley of the shadow of death, may her step be lightened a little by that hope – for her husband, herself, and her nation.
