Yesterday, I imagine that most of us were glued to our televisions from about 11 to 1 watching King Charles' and Queen Camilla’s coronation.
For most of us, this was the first time in our lifetimes that we’d witnessed such an event. It was an extraordinary spectacle. What did you think of it? Were you celebrating the fact that Charles has become king? My guess is that people here hold a mixture of views.
Probably some of us are firmly in favour of the royal family. We see the monarchy as an integral part of our history. We appreciate the good the royal family does by supporting charities, raising issues, and representing us as a country abroad. We love the pageantry and tradition of the coronation. We feel goodwill towards the royal family because of Queen Elizabeth. In short, we think the royal family is A Good Thing. People like that celebrate the fact that we have a new king. Judging by the enthusiasm we had for doing a special lunch today to celebrate the coronation, I think a majority of us feel this way.
But perhaps, some of us here aren’t so much in favour of the royal family. We’re republicans. We’d be quite happy if there was no royal family. If you're like that, well done for being here today, even though you don’t feel much reason to celebrate.
But let me ask, as Christians, what should we feel? Do we have cause to celebrate? I think we do!
If we go back in history about 400 years, the relationship between Baptists and royalty wasn’t very warm at all. Charles I persecuted Baptists. When Cromwell led the Parliamentarians to fight against the Royalists there were many Baptists in his ranks – and the Parliamentarians succeeded in removing Charles I. 400 years ago, many Baptists were not fans of royalty. But thankfully, that has changed. A couple of months ago, Lynn Green, the president of the Baptist Union, was one of a group who were invited to Buckingham Palace. They congratulated King Charles on his accession to the throne. Clearly, there are no bad feelings now.
As Christians, we certainly need to show the king respect. Paul wrote a letter to the church in Rome. Towards the end of it, he talked about our attitude towards authority. He wrote, ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. FOR THERE IS NO AUTHORITY EXCEPT FROM GOD, AND THOSE THAT EXIST HAVE BEEN INSTITUTED BY GOD’ [Romans 13:1]. We may raise our eyebrows at that. Roman authorities weren’t great. And yet, Paul says – the Bible says – that God establishes authorities. A few verses further on, Paul writes, ‘Pay to all what is owed to them … RESPECT TO WHOM RESPECT IS OWED, HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS OWED’ [Romans 13:7]. Charles is king. As such, he is entitled to respect and honour.
But as Christians, can we feel more than just respect? Should we CELEBRATE the fact that Charles has been crowned king? Should we rejoice? I believe we should!
I’m going to suggest three reasons.
My first reason to celebrate is that Charles’ coronation epitomised the principle that any king, any leader, MUST SERVE UNDER GOD. AT EVERY POINT, King Charles acknowledged God. There were countless examples of this.
After King Charles entered Westminster Abbey, he was greeted by a 14-year-old chorister called Samuel Strachan. Strachan said, ‘Your Majesty, as children of the Kingdom of God we welcome you IN THE NAME OF THE KING OF KINGS.’ Before the Archbishop of Canterbury crowned King Charles, he prayed for him. He addressed his prayer to Jesus. He prayer, ‘KING OF KINGS and Lord of lords.’ So when Charles was crowned king, it was in the awareness that he was in the presence of a greater king, indeed, the King of Kings.
King Charles was presented with a Bible. He was told that it set out God’s rule and royal law. He was crowned as king – but he was reminded that he came under the authority of a greater king.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all leaders recognized Jesus as King of Kings? That they recognised scripture as their rule? Isn’t the fact that Charles did this so emphatically, reason to celebrate?!
My second reason to celebrate is that Charles committed himself to serve. After Strachan greeted King Charles in the name of the King of Kings, King Charles replied: ‘In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served but to serve.’ That was King Charles’ first statement at his coronation. I’m going to say it again. ‘IN HIS NAME, AND AFTER HIS EXAMPLE, I COME NOT TO BE SERVED BUT TO SERVE.’ That would be a great life motto! Does it sound familiar? Do you remember, Jesus said, ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve …’ [Mark 10:45]?
The Archbishop of Canterbury gave a short sermon. His opening words were ‘We are here to crown a king. AND WE CROWN A KING TO SERVE.’ King Charles wasn’t simply being crowned king. He was being called to serve, before God, in a solemn religious ceremony, and he accepted that calling.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all leaders saw their role as being to serve? Isn’t the fact that Charles made it so clear that this was HIS goal, reason to celebrate?!
My third reason to celebrate is the fact that we witnessed THE CHURCH crowning a person as HEAD OF STATE. Here in the UK, we have got it deeply into our heads that church and state should be separate. The state shouldn’t interfere in the church and the church shouldn’t interfere in the processes of the state. And yet, here was a highly religious ceremony in which the Archbishop of Canterbury crowned King Charles BOTH as head of state of the United Kingdom and as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury anointed King Charles with oil and prayed, ‘May the Spirit of the Lord which anointed Jesus at his baptism, so anoint you this day.’ It’s what you’d expect to hear in a church in an ordination service!
What happened to separation of church and state?! In this ceremony, church and state were totally intertwined.
We may think, that isn’t very significant! Charles’ role is largely ceremonial. And not many people in the UK are members of the Church of England. But perhaps it gives us a glimpse of a relationship that between church and state that is much healthier – and much more Christlike – than our present relationship. Jesus, when he comes again, will be both priest and king, both head of the church and head of state. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if church and state could work together a bit better than they do? Isn’t the glimpse we get of that in King Charles’ coronation, reason to celebrate?
Let me wind up. All of us are weak and flawed. None of us have the strength or wisdom to serve. But when we see someone, conscious of his weakness, conscious of his need of God, accepting a call to serve, that is A Very Good Thing indeed. It is most definitely reason to thank God. It is most definitely reason reason to celebrate! And it is most definitely reason to keep King Charles in our prayers.
Talk given at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, 10.30 a.m. service, Sunday 7th May 2023.
