Many leaders are treasured in life and forgotten after death. For all who serve God, whether famous or unknown, respected or ignored, death is the gateway to glory. Her late Majesty declared in a radio address on her 21st birthday that she would devote her whole life to serving the nation and the Commonwealth. Rarely has such a promise been kept so well. Few heads of state are loved as we have seen them be.
Jesus, who in our reading does not tell his disciples how to follow but whom to follow, said: I am the way, the truth and the love. Her late Majesty’s example was set not by her position or ambition, but by that which she followed. I know that His Majesty shares the same faith and hope in Jesus Christ as his mother, the same sense of service and duty.
In 1953, the Queen began her coronation with a silent prayer, just before the high altar. She swore allegiance to God before anyone swore allegiance to her. Her ministry to so many people in this country, in the Commonwealth and in the world was based on her following Christ, God himself, who said he came not to be served but to serve and his life as a ransom for many to give.
