‘Zadok the priest, and Nathan the
prophet, anointed Solomon king.
And all the people rejoiced.
Alleluia. Amen.’
That text has
been used at coronations for centuries and is immortalised in Handel’s setting
of it sung just now. Handel’s music even inspired the UEFA Champion’s League
anthem, composed by a local Croydon boy, the composer and former pupil at
Trinity School, Tony Britten.
But the
inspiration we look to this evening is in reflecting on 70 years of the Queen’s
Christian service when Elizabeth II was crowned, and anointed with sacred oil,
in Westminster Abbey in 1953, following her Accession to the throne 70 years
ago this year.
‘Geoffrey
the archbishop, and Michael, bishop of Durham, anointed Elizabeth queen. And
all the people rejoiced. Alleluia. Amen.’
And we still
rejoice and give thanks for her as we look back over seventy years of her
reign.
The example of
Her Majesty the Queen these last 70 years has been one of exemplary service.
Without doubt
she has committed herself body, mind and spirit to the calling to which she was
called. And she constantly refers us to her Christian faith as the source of
the endurance and hope that we see in the tireless service she had offered, and
continues to offer, to this nation and the Commonwealth.
And today there
is a happy confluence of the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee with the Day of
Pentecost, Whitsunday, when we celebrate the pouring out of the Holy Spirit
upon the Church.
One of the
words associated with the Holy Spirit and with coronation is this word,
‘anointing’. As an ancient hymn to the Holy Spirit puts it:
Thou
the anointing Spirit art,
who
dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.
On a practical
level anointing is the act of pouring or smearing oil - we’re thinking olive
oil here - onto a person’s body.
In Christian
and biblical practice, such as the anointing of King Solomon, this outward
anointing is on the head, the hands or the chest.
But the inward
anointing is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the anointing of cleansing and
preparation, of blessing, empowerment and joy. Anointing, outward and inner,
strengthens and equips.
This power of
anointing flows from the Holy Spirit in the name of the Anointed One, Jesus
Christ. Anointed One in Hebrew is ‘Mesach’ משיח
from which we get the English word, ‘Messiah’. Anointed One in Greek is
Christos, from which we get the word ‘Christ’.
The one
anointed is touched by Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
On Maundy
Thursday, at what is known as the Chrism Mass, the Bishop blesses three oils
for use in the church. The Oil of Catechumens; the Oil of the Sick and the Oil
of Chrism.
Oil of the
Catechumens is pure olive
oil. To prepare a candidate for baptism
they are anointed with this sacred oil. The sign of the cross is marked on
their heads as they are told to fight valiantly against the world, the flesh
and the devil. This echoes the wrestlers of ancient times who would anoint the
bodies with oil so that the opponent could not get a grip on them and defeat
them. This anointing is to help the
baptised to ward off evil, avoid temptation and possess the faith necessary to
carry the cross of Christ throughout life.
Oil of the Sick is also pure olive oil. For this
anointing the priest lays hands on the person who is unwell, prays and anoints
the person by smearing the oil in the form of a cross on the forehead and
hands.
Through this
sacrament, God gives the sick person grace and strength to bear the illness or
infirmity. And it is not unknown that the power of this anointing brings
spiritual, emotional and even physical healing.
The third oil, holy chrism oil, is olive oil mixed with balsam. The oil symbolizes
strength, and the fragrant balsam represents the “aroma of Christ” (2 Cor
2:15). Anointing with chrism oil signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit. So much
so that in the act of blessing this oil the Bishop breathes gently upon it as
well as speaking words over it.
The holy chrism
oil is used to consecrate someone or something to God’s service.
It is used when
people are confirmed as the bishop traces the Sign of the Cross with chrism oil
on the forehead of the one being confirmed and, using the person’s Christian
name, says, “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
It is during
the ordination of a priest and the consecration of a bishop. It is the
anointing oil used in the consecration of a church and the blessing of an altar.
It is the Oil
of Chrism that was used to anoint Her Majesty the Queen at the Coronation.
For the Queen
her royal anointing equipped her for royal service. That is a task given only
to her. That anointing is the source of her strength and wisdom, for it imparts
the gift of the anointing Holy Spirit of God upon her. So sacred is this act
that there is no photograph or film of it.
With the Queen,
who is a fellow Christian - albeit she is Supreme Governor of our Church – we
share in the life of the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ. And that is an
expression of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that equip us all to different
strengths and talents so we all make up the diversity and strength of the One
Body of Christ.
Solomon, who
was anointed king by Zadok and Nathan, was given the opportunity by God to name
whatever he wanted as king. He asked for the gift of wisdom, that wisdom of
which we heard in our first reading from the Book of Proverbs, as Divine Wisdom
says :
I
have good advice and sound wisdom;
I have insight, I have strength.
By
me kings reign,
and rulers decree what is just;
by
me rulers rule,
and nobles, all who govern rightly. Proverbs 8.1-16
Wisdom is
primarily a gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who helps us see that the
knowledge and love of God is the beginning of wisdom. We see in Elizabeth II,
our sister in Christ and our Queen, someone who has rooted her life of royal
service in the knowledge and love of God, and who in turn has received the
grace, strength and wisdom of one anointed by that same Spirit.
At coronation
the Queen was anointed with holy Chrism Oil on her head, throat and hands so
that she would hold Christ always in mind, breathe in the Holy Spirit of God
and serve his people. All this she does as someone, like you and me, sharing
the call to be part of the life of the Jesus Christ, so that together with her
we will glimpse what our second reading from the Book of Revelation promised:
‘But
the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in [the Holy City], and his servants
will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their
foreheads’. Revelation 22.4
May God bless
the Queen, and each one of us, and may the Holy Spirit rest upon her now and in
the time to come.
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