Sermon for the 7th of May - Fifth Sunday of Easter
The coronation service that we say yesterday has largely been unchanged over the last 1,000 years, in the setting of an abbey also nearly 1,000 years old. However, there were several innovations at the service were wonderful, and sign of hope of progress in what feels like very dark times in our world. One of them happened at the very beginning of the service. The king was welcomed by a young person, and the king responds:
In his name and after his [Jesus’] example, I come not to be served, but to serve.
In fact, the theme of the whole coronation service is “called to serve” and it shapes the entire coronation weekend with various activities taking place through the country.
The idea of service is rooted in the biblical understanding of the nature of kingship, and the example of Jesus, the servant king. You will remember that Jesus washed his disciple’s feet and thus expressed a different style of leadership, saying to his disciples: “I come not to be served but to serve”
You will have noticed another innovation in the service with Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh traditions included. The important point being made is that this call to serve is a shared one, acknowledging that share in the building up of the common good. The chief rabbi was reflecting this week that when Richard I was crowned King in Westminster Abbey in 1189, Jew were barred from attending. And when some Jewish leaders came bearing gifts in a spirit of goodwill, they were stripped and flogged. It lead to some awful violence against Jews in the following days. So, its take a 1000 years, but its it wonderful that we a growing in a generous mutual understanding, respect and serving this nation together.
Another innovation is that it was the first coronation since the 15th century Reformation in which the Monarch was blessed by a Cardinal. It’s taken several hundred years but Protestants and Roman Catholics no longer burn each other over disagreements. And encouraging sign of how far we have come with ecumenical progress.
One thing that didn’t change is the anointing. In a world where many people seem to display the whole of their lives on social media, I rather liked the counter cultural part of the service which took place away from the cameras and watching guests. It was a private moment when the King swapped his robes for a “simple white shirt” and was anointed with oil. The use of this chrism oil is an echo of baptism, which is at the heart of this rite.
Before the service, Archbishop Justin wrote about the “magnificence and pomp” of the ceremony but added: “In the midst of this glorious spectacle is a moment of stillness and simplicity… a private moment between a new King and the King of Kings”. It marks the moment when the King is set apart for service: service of the people of this country and service of God. Asking for God’s help to serve, a “three-way promise between the King, the people and God”.
Lastly, I know that not everyone will have been cheering this weekend and that our constitutional monarchy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That the coronation here says something important about power. We seem to be living in a world with a growing number of strong men dictators, where authority is total, and with leaders behaving like the worst sort of dominating monarch.
Power and authority are usually seen as a ticket to imposing your will upon the world — until someone even more powerful mount a coups and impose their will upon the world. A Christian understanding of power is profoundly different.
The orb the king was given, a symbol of the earth, has a cross standing over it. It’s a reminder to him that the world stands under the authority of a God who is love, and that a king is accountable to a higher authority than his own whims. As Graham Tomlin puts it: The cross is the symbol of God’s self-sacrificial love for us as a human race and so [the king] is reminded that he is to rule with a spirit of humble self-sacrifice, giving himself, his time, his influence, whatever it costs, for the good of his people.
It’s a radical insight and it comes from the revolution that Jesus brought to the world, and we return to the theme of service and an invitation to us. Jesus taught us: “The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves”.
For all its oddities, we have here in the United Kingdom a monarchy that, for those who can see past the pomp and the diamonds, goes in for quiet dignity and servant leadership. And long may that continue. Happy coronation!
Reference:
Graham Tomlin, Credo, The Times, 6 May 2023