My advocacy of the Queen's message this past year in particular has everything to do with its solidly and unapologetically Christian message (appropriate on CHRISTmas, I think.) This, of course is a digression. It is not every day that I am thinking about HRH. But I am today because today is essentially coronation day.
Today is the fortieth day after Easter, the day we remember the Ascension of Jesus to heaven. It is a major feast of the church but often slips by unnoticed because we either don't take notice of the feasts of the church (shame because feast is fun) or because it doesn't fall on our usual worship day.
All of the appointed lessons for Ascension talk about the sovereignty of God and the reign of Christ. "He ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father." says the creed. This is an ascension to a throne (sits being the give-away word here). Ascension is the Father's acknowledgement of the reign and rule of Jesus the Christ. It is his coronation day.
As coronation day it comes some time after his battle and victory. The battle was the cross; the victory, the resurrection. And some time after comes the coronation. Forty days in this case. In the Return of the King, the last volume of Tolkien's trilogy, Aragorn who becomes king fights his battles (one outside the his gates and one outside the gates of the enemy) and is victorious. After all this he returns to Minas Tirith and is crowned King. The coronation is the acknowledgement of his reign and rule, which is his both by right of birth and by the merits of his victory.
Aragorn is but a figure of Christ Jesus, whose rule and reign on this day we remember.
The psalm appointed for this morning says:
For God is King of all the earth;
sing praises with all your skill. (Psalm 47:7)
The writer to the Hebrews also reminds us today:
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
putting everything in subjection under his feet.
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, to that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:7-9)
The writer here underlines one of the common struggles of believing in the reign of Jesus, trusting in the truth of his ascension to the right hand of God - we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. (Yet is the give-away word this time). His reign, though real, is still being worked out in the world, and frankly in me. But that does not make it any less real. Another favorite book comes to mind as I think about the working out of reign. Caspian, king of Narnia, in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, relates to Edmund and Lucy what has happened since they had left Narnia, just after Caspian's victory. He tells them he still had to deal with some "troublesome giants on the frontier." Rule and reign is worked out over time, but that does not make it any less rule and reign, nor any less complete.
Charles Wesley, in acknowledging this day and his King wrote this:
Hail the day tha sees him rise
To his throne above the skies
Christ, the Lamb for sinners given,
Enters now the highest heaven!
And for those who have seven minutes of their life to invest, here's the link to the Queen's message:
Queen Elizabeth II Christmas Message 2011
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