"I WAS GLAD ..."

I have surprised myself by feeling that I really must comment on the royal wedding!


On the day of the wedding Kate Middleton entered the magnificent edifice of Westminster Abbey to the accompaniment of Hubert Parry’s great setting of Psalm 122, the first lines of which are: “I was glad; glad when they said unto me, we will go into the house of the LORD”. I myself instantly felt wonderfully glad that the central moments of this great day were to take place in “the House of the LORD” and, as the Archbishop reminded us at the very start, “in the presence of God”. This was not going to be solely a “secular” day or a celebrity occasion despite all the media angles of interest. It was going to be, at its very heart, something that involved solemn vows, prayer, scripture and the praise of God. We were in the House of the LORD. I was glad!


I was glad because this was going to be (and was, despite everything else!) a great witness to Christian marriage in an era which has almost forgotten it and desperately needs to be brought back to it. How wonderful! I was profoundly grateful for the simplicity and directness of the Anglican Prayer Book Service (except perhaps the bizarre retention of some archaic phrasing). I remain so thankful that the Anglican liturgy, a remarkable expression of scripture, still underpins these great national occasions. It would have been dreadful to think what might have emerged if an “up to date” service had been devised to accommodate the attitudes of the modern world! As it was we heard solemn vows, total commitment, strong enjoinders to faithfulness, marriage as the heart of family, prayer for grace, all with appropriate gravitas. And some 2 billion people were reckoned to be tuned in! Yes, I was glad!


Both the sermon and the reading have elicited cynical comment from the Press but there could have been few readings as sharp and direct as the verses from Romans that were read about Christian life style. The bride and groom, who chose it, had obviously thought about giving themselves to an upright and useful lifestyle. And the Bishop of London made astute comments on the marriage relationship. I was glad!


I can only hope and pray that some of this really struck home. There was, of course, an enormous amount of alternative interest; the fashion, the carriage rides, the drama etc. etc. Almost 100% of the press coverage I have read has fastened onto all this. I have yet to read anything about it being a great example for us – that, of course would be far too “twee” and “infra dig”. At that point I have to say, “I was sad”.


As I saw it, God was very much in the occasion. He seemed to me to be using what little is left of our Christian heritage to point the nation once more in the right direction. For those with eyes to see, it was a great statement. God was not eclipsed by the pomp and the ceremony of the event. Indeed that very pomp and ceremony, the glory of the bride and the happiness of the event, was a glorious reminder of the enormous joy of our eventual coming into the presence of God as the bride of Jesus. Many were deeply touched emotionally by the ceremony (even men!); not consciously realising perhaps that their hearts were in fact reaching out to the ultimate glory of our union with God. Humanity yearns for glory and majesty and happiness for that is our destiny in God, if we only knew it. That is why we are deeply moved when we see it.


Yes, I was glad!




Bob




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