Romans 8.28-39 God’s love in Christ Jesus
Proverbs
8.1-16 The gifts of wisdom
The steadfast
love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
‘The Lord is my
portion,’ says my soul,
‘therefore I will hope in him.’
(Lamentations
3.22,23)
+
This evening we
have gathered from across this Borough of Croydon to commemorate and give
thanks, before God, for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Tomorrow the
whole world gathers, virtually, with our United Kingdom and the Commonwealth
for Her Late Majesty’s funeral service in Westminster Abbey.
The intention
of services like this one, taking place in Cathedrals and Civic Churches
throughout the land, is to enable communities to come together to pray, reflect,
mourn and gives thanks for our Late Queen before tomorrow.
This was always
a hope of the Queen in the plans for the events that would mark her death.
In death, as in
life, she is a focal point for bringing disparate people together, which was
surely part of her genius as our Queen.
In a richly
diverse Borough such as ours we know just how important it is that people come
together, trust one another, celebrate all that builds up the Common Good: the
Queen embodied just that.
*
These last 10
days have been a most remarkable time.
We have been
mourning the death of our Queen, sometimes surprised just how raw it has felt;
we have been acclaiming the Accession of our new King; we have been acutely
aware of the sadness of the Royal Family - she was their mother and grandmother –and many have queued to file past
her body lying in state.
That is an
emotional roller coaster for us, and how much more for King Charles and the
Royal Family.
We must keep
him and them all in our prayers.
*
The words of
the scriptures this evening speak of ancient and enduring wisdom – ever old and
ever new - and the conviction of the power of God’s love.
The first
reading was from the book of Proverbs, a text of Hebrew wisdom literature shared
by Jews and Christians.
The passage
praises wisdom as ‘better than jewels’, as the key to a good life, truthful
living, prudent decision making and resilience, and states,
By
me [wisdom] kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me [wisdom] rulers
rule, and nobles, all who govern rightly.
The Bible is
consistent in saying that however bejewelled a crown; the monarch is nothing
unless crowned with the wisdom that flows from God.
In challenging
times, at all times, wisdom is profoundly needed in public and personal life.
That’s what we
saw our late Queen who lived a life of wise insight.
*
The second
reading was from a letter St Paul wrote to the earliest Christians in Rome.
It reflects on
God’s purpose in human lives and our trials and tribulations.
‘Who will
separate us from the love of Christ?’ he asks.
He concludes,
in beautiful terms, that nothing in all creation ‘will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
This springs
from St Paul’s conviction, shared by Christians to this day, of the deep hope
of the resurrection: the conviction that life triumphs over death: light overcomes
darkness: hope transforms despair; that death has lost its sting.
Her Late
Majesty, a Christian, shared this faith and hope that the Resurrection of Jesus
Christ is the definitive statement of God’s boundless love and salvation.
It was for her
the rock and inspiration of her life; something of which she spoke so
powerfully in her Christmas broadcasts.
In an Easter
message during Covid she said: ‘"As dark as death can be - particularly
for those suffering with grief - light and life are greater."
That sprang
from her Christian hope.
The Queen’s
Christian faith was serious, committed and sincere and the deep roots of her
faith gave her the grace to be hospitable and always open to those who faith or
belief was other than hers.
*
As a Borough,
in all our richness, we commemorate her and give thanks for her.
Tonight, books
of condolence have been placed before the altar and, in a few moments, candles will be lit, prayers offered and then
the Bishop of Croydon will commend the Late Queen to God and we pray her on her
way.
The evening
comes: the evening of the day, the evening of life: tomorrow a new day dawns.
Tomorrow the
mortal remains of our beloved Late Queen will be brought to a holy place; prayer
will be offered and then she will be committed, beyond our sight, into the
hands of the Eternal God, her maker and redeemer, and ours, before whom we all
fall silent.
Support
us, O Lord,
all
the day long of this troublous life,
until
the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,
the
busy world is hushed,
the
fever of life is over
and
our work is done.
Then,
Lord, in your mercy grant us a safe lodging,
a
holy rest, and peace at the last;
through
Christ our Lord.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment