Grief is the price we pay for love

Queen Elizabeth II

Watching the scenes from Westminster Hall is oddly compelling for those of us who would like to go and pay our respects to the Queen but just cannot find the time or the physical strength to wait in a queue for upwards of eleven hours. We see a variety of expressions of grief, some grief is clearly visible in the tears and sobs, some is expressed in silence – the dignified salutes and bows, some people look awkward not knowing how to process all that they are feeling. But, however people appear, the one thing that is apparent is just how much the Queen is loved. Loved by millions and millions of people around the world.

Loved because of the love that she showed for each of us. Loved because she never wavered in her life of service and duty. Loved because she always conducted herself in a manner that reflected the teachings of Jesus. The Lord that she herself followed all the days of her long life. It is to that Heavenly Sovereign Lord that we turn, as we gather in front of our televisions to watch the funeral of our earthly sovereign.

We will feel gratitude for all that the Queen has done for us. We will feel grief that we will never see this wonderful person again in this life. We will feel the remembrance of past occasions of bereavement in our own families and friendships. But we will also feel hope. Hope for the resurrection to eternal life of Queen Elizabeth, our lost loved ones and indeed ourselves. Hope for the future, as we see the continuity that the new earthly King Charles III represents. Hope for the leaders of the nations that they will follow her example of such a wonderful life of duty and service.

Most of all, however, we will know love because as the Queen herself said – Grief is the price we pay for love.

 

Gracious God, we give thanks for the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth II, for her faith and her dedication to duty; particularly for her devotion as patron of Mothers’ Union, for her lifelong encouragement and support to our work. Bless our members as we mourn her death; may her example continue to inspire us in our mission. Amen

 

With all my love and prayers

Revd Sandra