The Revd Matthew
P. Cadwell, PhD
The Old North
Church, Boston
Memorial Service
for Queen Elizabeth II
September 18, 2022
Changed from
glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns
before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.
This final line
from Charles Wesley’s glorious hymn may be among the most sublime in Christian
hymnody. And particularly fitting as we gather this morning, with heavy hearts
and hopeful spirits, to gave thanks for the extraordinary and singular life of
Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. For she, too, has been changed from glory
into glory, taking her own place in heaven, no longer wearing an earthly crown
but instead an heavenly one.
I suspect that
like me, you found yourself washed by waves of emotion at news of the death of
Her Majesty 10 days ago. While we know that no human being lives forever,
somehow this time always seemed long in future and this human immortal. Queen
Elizabeth had such an abiding, even eternal seeming presence. Just two days
before, Her Majesty had accepted the resignation of one Prime Minister and
welcomed the next. In the photos from that day in Balmoral Her Majesty appeared
especially radiant—no crown or robes of state to distract from a deeper, inner
light. Upon reflection, perhaps Her Majesty was anticipating the even greater glory
to come on Thursday. Perhaps the glory from heaven was shining through even
then, had we only known.
It has been moving
reading and hearing reflections on Queen Elizabeth’s impact on individual
lives. A friend in Toronto, who claimed not to be a royalist, shared a photo on
Facebook of a letter she had received from the Queen’s Lady in Waiting, dated
1979. The Lady was commanded (that’s the word used) to thank my friend for the
picture she drew as a kindergartner. It’s incredible to think how many such
letters must have been sent over 70-years. To children (and adults) across the
world, creating lasting bonds of affection.
Her Majesty’s more
recent adventures with James Bond and tea this summer with Paddington Bear, and
their shared appreciation for marmalade sandwiches (we now know what the Queen kept
in her handbag all those years), endeared her to young and old alike, when age
prevented her from being as publicly visible as she and we might have hoped. The
long ques filing past Her Majesty’s coffin, sometimes 24 hours waiting, testify
to the profound place Her Majesty secured in the hearts of a rainbow of people,
diverse in interests, beliefs, languages, races, and political persuasions.
I read or heard
somewhere that in Her Majesty’s 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth is estimated to
have met over 2 million people, with a special, unique power, to make them feel
special. We know that was true here at Old North. Her Majesty’s visit in 1976
is held in our collective memory as one of our proudest, most significant
moments. Many outside our community find it especially ironic, given this
church’s role at the start of the American Revolution. That, too, is a proud
moment, to be sure. But in visiting, Queen Elizabeth brought a unique kind of
magic that she alone possessed. She shone a special, radiant light that has
remained with us these 46 years.
In announcing the
death of Her Majesty, the U.K.’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss reflected that
the Second Elizabethan Age had ended, stating that Queen Elizabeth was the rock
on which modern Britain was built. The first Elizabeth reigned 44 years. The
second, 70 years, overseeing some of the greatest changes and evolutions in
world history. Many of them positive, as people across the globe, of different
colors, races, and backgrounds claimed right to self-determination, a beginning
in the long reckoning with colonialism (this church and its complicated history
being one manifestation), important work that has really just begun and will be
ongoing far into the future; as women, following the example of the Queen,
among others, asserted rights to equal leadership; as science and technology
enabled us to soar into the farthest heavens; as we built a new global
community and enduring alliances following two devastating world wars. Even the
seeming intractable hostility between Britain and Ireland have calmed in the
Queen’s time.
We’ve also witnessed
and created unprecedented environmental destruction. It is fortunate that both
King Charles and Prince William are devoted to using their energies to conserve
what we can of our natural world, before it’s too late. Their shared passion
demonstrates how the monarchy can evolve, finding meaning and impact in each
new era, just as Her Late Majesty’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth,
gave inspiration and hope as the world was plunged into devastating war. In
each successive age, these servants have demonstrated the power of their high calling,
which comes not through legislative means, but through example.
Doubtless there
were multiple occasions when Her Majesty would have wanted to speak out on
issues of importance, perhaps even contradicting the positions of her
governments. With Prime Ministers as diverse as Churchill, Wilson, Thatcher,
Blair, and Johnson there must have been moments of personal disagreement. Her
people, too, might have wished, sometimes, that the Queen had taken liberty to
speak on issues of significance. But the Queen understood her role, her
calling, to be a different one.
Among the most
eloquent statements following the Queen’s death was that of Sir Kier Starmer,
leader of the Most Loyal Opposition in the House of Commons. I’d like to share from
his statement:
Nobody under the
age of 70 has known anything other than Queen Elizabeth II on the throne. For
the vast majority of us, the late Queen has been simply the Queen. The only
Queen. Above all else, our Queen. As we mourn her loss, we should also
treasure her life. Our longest-serving and greatest ever monarch. Above the
clashes of politics, she stood not for what the nation fought over. But what it
agreed upon. In crisis, she reassured us. Reminding us that we are all part of
something that stretches back through time. A symbol of the best of us…. Every time I had the privilege to meet the late
Queen, she would ask the most searching questions because she wanted to
understand the lives and struggles of her people. And as Britain changed
rapidly around her, this dedication became the still point of our turning
world. An example that taught us that whatever the challenges we face, the
value of service always endures.
“She stood not for
what the nation fought over, but what it agreed upon.” That truth, in
particular, has stayed with me. It points to the value of the modern monarchy
as it has evolved, and why so many find themselves feeling tremendous loss for
someone they hadn’t met or certainly known, but who held a place of
inspiration, strength, hope, and example at the center of life. As Sir Kier, says
so beautifully, the Queen was a symbol of the best of us.
While we did not
know Queen Elizabeth’s inner thoughts, what she thought of her several Prime
Ministers, the many US presidents she knew, or political debates over seven
decades, she did share her Christian faith, through televised Christmas
addresses. Addresses not prepared by Her Majesty’s government, but rather
expressing her own faith and conviction. In these speeches Her Majesty’s sought
to share the inspiration, comfort, and hope that characterizes Christian faith
at its best. In 2000 the Queen said: “To many of us our beliefs are of
fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal
accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life.” And
in 2014: “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace… is an
inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and
forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing.
Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people, of
whatever faith or none.’”
Assured of Her
Majesty’s deep faith, we can be confident that she was received into the
glorious arms of the God she followed and sought to serve so steadfastly, as
Queen, as Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church, as a
disciple and follower of Christ. While we won’t have the blessing of seeing her
again, Her Majesty’s memory and example of service and devotion, from the
beginning of her life to the very end, will stand as inspiration for us all, as
we follow our own unique callings and lead our own lives of faith and service.
In our Platinum
Jubilee celebration a few short months ago, I shared a reflection by Boston
Globe columnist David Wilson from the time of Her Majesty’s visit to Boston.
He suggested that Queen Elizabeth was “a thread of fine gold in the
often-shoddy fabric of our unruly times.” In her life, in her reign, Her
Majesty was a golden thread woven into different eras and cultures. Even as
there is great hope for those who will follow, none of us will see her like
again. And so, we join Paddington and those who loved the late Queen in saying,
“Thank you, for everything.”
May Her Late
Majesty Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory. And may we be inspired by her example.
Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast
our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Amen.
© The Revd Matthew
P. Cadwell, PhD
