Celebrating Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
This weekend the Commonwealth and notably the United Kingdom celebrates the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, 70 years of reigning on the throne.
Street parties are happening over the weekend and are set to bring millions of excited people together. It is a historic occasion for a sovereign aged 96. The Queen has visited
100 countries, 22 times to Canada, and has sat for
200 portraits — that's a lot of paintings. She has reigned through 14 British Prime Ministers and met 13 U.S. presidents. She is the longest-reigning monarch, surpassing Queen Victoria by over six years, and has, I’m sure, lovingly sent 300,000 birthday cards to those who have reached the grand milestone of 100. I remember the Silver Jubilee as a shaggy blonde-haired twelve-year-old boy, putting on my blue suit and tie, tables and chairs lined up in the street, as red, white and blue flags were flying high and street parties echoed through the rolling hills. It was quite the party, sausage rolls, pork pies, cupcakes with gallons of tea.
One can argue whether we currently need the role of the Monarchy. If we were starting from scratch and said, shall we choose one family and their descendants to be our king and queen, we would all say, “no, are you kidding me?”
But the English throne reaches back 1,300 years to 895AD King Athelstan. Kings were very different then; a king had power, authority, might and divine right. Our Queen is constitutional. She and her descendants are figureheads.
One of the names given to
Queen Elizabeth II is Defender of the Faith. I’ve been thinking about Christ the King, a title that was given to Jesus in
Christianity, which refers to the kingly office of Christ as a “prophet,” the one who speaks to our heart, “priest,” connecting us to God and “king,” the one who rules over creation.
This leads me to the question: Is Christ the king of my life or a constructional monarch who has no power or influence over my thoughts, words, or actions?
Do I pay attention to what He might want; a lovely figurehead, but I’m in charge — thank you very much?
The opposite is that I actively ask what would Jesus want, or WWJD — “what Jesus would do?” My point is, don’t let your faith and Christ be nothing more than a figurehead in your life; let Him be Lord of all.
I’ll finish by congratulating the Queen on her Platinum celebrations, and this weekend I’ll make sure I have a sausage roll, a nice cup of tea and a slice of Victoria sponge while listening to a bit of brass band music.