Is It Good To Be The King?

 There is a glimpse into the past offering us wisdom today. 

Did anyone watch the coronation of King Charles 3 on Saturday? One bit that sticks out for me is why this one was two hours long whereas the coronation of Elizabeth 2 was apparently more than five hours long. It concerns the swearing of homage and fealty to the new king. In this instance, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke on behalf of the sacred (Charles is head of the Church) and Prince William spoke on behalf of the secular (Charles is ruler of the nation). Then there was the opportunity for a universal swearing by all others, of all classes. 

In 1953, every titled member of the peerage (according to my memory of the commentary) had to come forward one by one. That was a throwback to an earlier time of the divine right of the monarch, of absolute power, of knights and lords rallying to the banner of the king or queen. 

Cutting the long procession of personal fealty was certainly a nod to the times in which we live. But almost everything else in that service returned to the days of yore when the monarch was all-powerful, or as powerful as the Magna Carta and Parliament sought to allow them to be. The power of the king was stressed again and again, in every detail, power derived from Almighty God.

It was a profoundly Christian service of the likes I have never witnessed.

But the one thing that stood out to me again and again, especially in the sermon by the Archbishop, is how the power wielded by the king must be wielded as Christ did, in service to others. The more power, the more the need of service. As the king is, at least ceremonially, something akin to ‘all-powerful’ in the Lord, the demands upon him are all-service.

In this country, the notion of power may be better understood from Spiderman, “with great power comes great responsibility”. But that’s comic book wisdom. This coronation sent a message of so much more.

It is a clarion call for service by all who hold power and claim the Lordship of Jesus in their lives. The more power one has, the more one is called upon to serve. 

Now I am well aware of the two lives that seem to exist side by side in the reputation of the Royal Family of the United Kingdom. On the one hand, the service of the "working royals" is incredible. But their 'other' behavior is the stuff of tabloids and gossip columns. It would made for great television. 

But sinfulness is not limited to the Royals (we just see more of it given the scrutiny they undergo), sinfulness is universal. In Christ, the offer of forgiveness is also universal. The opportunity to serve again, universal. The biggest distinction between people when it comes to service is the power that they wield is commensurate with how many they can serve.

For us, the call of political power and leadership is to serve. The call of fame and wealth is to serve. The call of strength is to serve. The responsibility of people of faith is to serve. The ministry of Christ was to serve, unto death, even death on the cross. 

So there is the Royal family and there are the “working royals”. Seek out the Idol of Knowledge (Google is my preferred search engine) and do a search on just what it means to work as a royal. It is impressive. We of the most powerful nation in the world could learn a lot of what it means to provide service in our power from the example of the UK's new king. Those folks got great accents too.

Peace, 

Pastor Peter