The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: The Call To Wisdom, And St. Paul's Wisdom

OS sends greetings to HM and to all her subjects. In the past sixty years, this country has had as head of state Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., and HimselfTheWinnerOfTheNobelPeacePrize. Apart from the first two, arguably Ford and definitely Reagan, it has been a pretty disappointing cast of characters at the helm.

Ya'll have had the Queen, who has worked at looking after things in challenging times. She has dealt with some serious knucklehead Prime Ministers, especially in Blair, Brown and Cameron, but England is still doing better than that train wreck across the Channel, Europe. She's one of the main reasons why.

In the US, the live video feed of this morning's service was blocked, and the BBC Radio Coverage was shameful, with the self-impressed presenters chattering over the service and making certain to downplay any Christian content. Shame on them, and OS hopes his readers in the UK will take the matter up with the Beeb. Ya'll deserve better. You're paying these clowns to chatter over the great events of your history.

Still, bits of video were posted, and OS shares two of them with you.

The anthem for the day, based upon the Old Testament reading from Proverbs 8 was the newly-composed 'Call To Wisdom', sung by a choir dawn from across the UK.

Lord of wisdom, Lord of truth, Lord of justice, Lord of mercy;
Walk beside us down the years till we see you in your glory.
Striving to attain the heights, turning in a new direction,
Entering a lonely place, welcoming a friend or stranger. 

I am here, I am with you.
I have called; do you hear me? 

Silver is of passing worth, gold is not of constant value,
Jewels sparkle for a while: what you long for is not lasting.
Rulers govern under me with my insight and my wisdom.
Those who love me know my love; those who seek me find their answer. 

God the Father and the Son, Holy Spirit, co-eternal;
Glory be ascribed to you, now and to the end of ages.

Words: Michael Hampel (b.1967), based on Proverbs 8. 1-17
Music: Will Todd (b.1970)

The second video features David Cameron reading the New Testament lesson from Romans 12.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual worship. Do not be confor med to this world, but be transfor med
by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of
God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober
judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For
as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the
same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually
we are members one of another.

We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the
leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one
another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not
lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in
suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend
hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those
who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another;
do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than
you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble
in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably
with all.

Romans 12. 1-18

How very appropriate to make the Prime Minister broadcast these words to the world. The inspiration, truth, poetry, aspiration and inherent optimism of St. Paul's vision for how society should run (in light of the the Gospel he so eloquently described in Romans 1-11) stand in dissonant contrast to how governance is practiced these days. These sorts of events are not for nothing--words have power, especially well-written words spoken in front of millions. OS hopes that the public presentation of these words will have some sort of restraining effect upon all in public life, on both sides of the pond.

As for Her Majesty: God bless you, and thank you for all the ways, great and small, you have looked after your part of the world. You have blessed us all.