Faith, hope and eternal life
As the nation mourns the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, Catherine Butcher looks at Her Majesty’s source of strength in life and death
Queen Elizabeth II rarely told anyone her opinions. But when it came to talking about her role-model – who she was following – the late Queen was quite clear.
In most of her annual Christmas broadcasts to the Commonwealth – the speeches she wrote herself – she referred to Jesus Christ as the reason for the season, and in 2014 she was specific. She described Christ as ‘an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role-model of reconciliation and forgiveness.’
At Christmas 2000, Queen Elizabeth said: ‘For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.’
Yes, she was the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, but she didn’t talk about loyalty to an organisation, she talked about following the person, Jesus, the founder of Christianity who lived about 2000 years ago in the Middle East.
Referring to the Queen’s Christian faith at her funeral in Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury explained that Jesus did not tell his disciples how to follow, but who to follow. ’As Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life.”’ The Archbishop added, ‘Her Late Majesty’s example was not set through her position or her ambition, but through whom she followed.’
As the world marked the Queen’s death, many commentators talked about the Queen’s life of faithful duty and service, but they struggled to identify the source of her strength. However, the Queen was clear about what she saw as the ‘bedrock’ of her life: ‘…the example of Jesus of Nazareth who, often in circumstances of great adversity, managed to live an outgoing, unselfish and sacrificial life… He makes it clear that genuine human happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than receiving; more in serving than in being served. We can surely be grateful that, two thousand years after the birth of Jesus, so many of us are able to draw inspiration from his life and message, and to find in him a source of strength and courage.’
As a result of following Jesus, the Queen saw herself as a servant; she signed the open letter at the start of her Platinum Jubilee year ‘Your Servant, Elizabeth R.’ and the only book to which she contributed a foreword was titled The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. It was about her Christian faith and life of service, following Jesus’ example.
‘Jesus Christ lived obscurely for most of his life, and never travelled far. He was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong. And yet, billions of people now follow his teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives,’ she said, adding, ‘I am one of them because Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love.’
Hundreds of stories have been told of how the Queen did ‘small things with great love’: supporting bereaved members of her staff; helping Terry Waite to overcome five years as a hostage in Lebanon; understanding why war surgeon David Nott was too traumatised to speak to her and asking him to help her feed her corgis instead.
Many of these private actions have come to light since her death, but the Queen also sought to follow Jesus Christ through her public platform.
She had noticed that ‘throughout his ministry, Jesus of Nazareth reached out and made friends with people whom others ignored or despised’. She sought to do the same, even reaching out to shake the hand of a former IRA member who was implicated in the murder of her second cousin, Lord Mountbatten.
She emphasised the power of forgiveness which, she said, ‘lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.’
She expected the Christian life to be one of joyful service, and seemed to find that to be true as so many people commented on her sparkling smile. But she was also comfortable about facing her own death.
In 2015, after listening to hundreds of people singing the National Anthem and its words ‘…long live our noble Queen…’, the Queen turned to the Archbishop of Canterbury and said, ‘I think I’ve lived long enough, don’t you?’ To agree, he said, would have been treason! But the remark speaks volumes about a Queen who was comfortable with her own mortality.
For the Queen, death was not the end. She died expecting to follow Jesus through death to resurrection life. Her earthly journey is now complete. Her life in God’s presence has begun.