Duty

Dear friends,

I was surprised by how sad I felt when I learned that Queen Elizabeth died.  After all, I’d never met her; she’s not my queen; and she was 96 years old.  But when I think of Queen Elizabeth, I think of unflagging diligence, and I am awed by the grace with which she carried the very public, ceaseless burden of her role for 70 years.

You may remember the movie The King’s Speech, which came out in 2010.  It’s about Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, who had a terrible speech impediment.  My favorite scene in the movie is this:  King George’s wife carries out a reconnaissance mission on the king’s behalf, visiting a speech therapist who doesn’t know who she is.  Never disclosing her identity, the queen explains that her husband holds an important position that involves giving lots of public addresses, and he needs speech therapy.  The speech therapist says to her, “Maybe he should find a different line of work.”  But of course, that isn’t an option for poor George!

Forced to step up when his brother abdicated the throne, George VI was anointed as king.  English coronations include anointing, which marks the spiritual dimension of the role the monarch takes on.  To serve as England’s king or queen is a sacred duty, a holy responsibility that Queen Elizabeth shouldered in good times and bad.

To serve Jesus Christ is a sacred duty for us as Christians, one we are called to carry out in good times and bad.  We, too, are anointed—by the Holy Spirit, at our baptism.  Like Queen Elizabeth, we have a burden to bear, a sacred duty to perform:  Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow him.  May we do so with the same kind of grace and diligence that Queen Elizabeth II exemplified throughout her life.

Blessings.  -Anne