Many, many people watched the Queen’s funeral yesterday. Let’s use it as an opportunity to get to know others better, and when we can, to talk about Jesus. We can get to know others better by asking ‘Did you watch it? What did you think?’ People will have their own views about the Queen’s funeral – and we shouldn’t fall out over that. But hearing what they say will be a great chance to get chatting and know people better.
These chats might be a way for us to talk about Jesus. We can talk about the good aspects of the sermon (which was better than we expected!) The Archbishop spoke about grief for the Queen’s family, he spoke about gratitude for the Queen’s life, he spoke about the hope of glory.
Grief – death is a time of grieving, a time of sadness. It is right to grieve when a person’s death stops us seeing them anymore. This should always be remembered at funerals.
Gratitude – the Archbishop said that the Queen had been an unusually good leader because she followed Jesus’ example. Jesus said that he “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Glory – the Archbishop correctly said: “Christ rose from the dead and offers life to all, abundant life now and life with God in eternity.” And “Christian hope means certain expectation of something not yet seen.”
When I spoke with someone this morning about the funeral, I remembered this line from the sermon: Jesus does not tell his disciples how to follow, but who to follow
Joel Edwards (Vicar)