A sermon preached by the Rev’d Dr Daniel Dries Easter 5 – 90th Birthday of HM Queen Elizabeth II Christ Church St Laurence – 24th April, 2016 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight: O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. In the 12th Chapter of the Gospel according to Mark we encounter Christ in the midst of a tense and politically charged scene. As Mark’s Gospel moves towards its dramatic conclusion, the chief priests have decided that this Jesus of Nazareth is the enemy. In the hope of exposing him, they send Pharisees and Herodians to ask the question, ‘is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ In any society, taxation is a contentious and a fiercely debated topic—even monarchs are not spared this necessary evil! However, when Christ is required to comment on the validity of paying taxes to Caesar, the issues are infinitely more sensitive and provocative than anything we could imagine. When the Pharisees present Christ with a coin showing an image of Caesar, a faithful Jew would have been expected to denounce it immediately as idolatry. Jews had strict laws that prohibited the making of images. We know from elsewhere in the Gospels that money changers were to be found in and around the Temple. This was because it was completely unacceptable for Jews to offer Roman coins in the Temple, particularly as they showed images of an emperor that demanded to be worshipped as a deity. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. This statement must have disappointed the Pharisees greatly, for Christ responded to their provocative and complex theological challenge with a simple statement of common sense. So much religious doctrine and behaviour goes against common sense, despite the fact that Our Lord’s ministry largely consisted of humble acts of grace, love and compassion. If we were attending a church service in England today, we would probably be presented with a copy of this little book. It has been produced by the Bible Society as a tribute to Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her 90th birthday. It is possible that I may be holding the only copy in Australia—after Evensong I may list it on eBay! This sweet little book is entitled The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. I imagine that most of us here this evening would have a pretty good understanding of the way the monarchy works, but just in case you’re confused by the title, I should point out that ‘The King She Serves’ does not refer to the Prince Philip. Rather, it refers to Our Lord Jesus Christ. In England, The Queen retains the title ‘Defender of the Faith’. Although Britain may be an increasingly secular and multi-faith society, the Queen has never distanced herself from the church; she has made no apology for her Christian conviction, and her much-loved Christmas Broadcasts continue to include very direct Christian themes and statements. The little book The Page | 1
Servant Queen and the King She Serves documents a life of faith, and a ‘down to earth’ Christianity, quite in accordance with the common sense theology expressed by Christ to the Pharisees. This little book contains many sweet and charming anecdotes, such as car brakes screeching to a halt outside the parish church at Sandringham on wintry Sunday mornings, followed soon after by a monarch quietly slipping into the church through a side door, before taking her place in an ordinary pew. The little book speaks of the Queen’s unquestionable dignity, and her love of God’s creation, which evidentially culminated in the Welsh Corgi. However, a much more significant statement of Christian faith is contained within the brief Foreword written by the Queen herself. She writes, ‘In my first Christmas Broadcast in 1952, I asked the people of the Commonwealth and the Empire to pray for me as I prepared to dedicate myself to their service at my Coronation. I have been—and remain—very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for His steadfast love. I have indeed seen his faithfulness.’ Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. In this brief statement of common sense theology, Christ teaches his disciples many life lessons. He makes it clear to his disciples that they are to respect authority and that they are to engage with the society around them. As Christianity faces decline in the west, there is a growing tendency towards extremism and, in some cases, a disengagement from society. Christ commands his followers to live in the world. His simple statement affirms that human beings are dependent on God; and dependent on one another.
In equally common sense language and theology, Her Majesty The Queen affirmed this in 1952 when she requested the prayers of the people of the Commonwealth and Empire. A monarch’s simple and humble request reminds us that no matter how important or privileged we may be, we are dependent on God and on one another.
As we gather this night partly to celebrate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty The Queen, we do so on the eve of ANZAC Day, arguably our most significant National Day. While Australia Day seems to encourage silly behaviour, ANZAC Day has increasingly taken on a profound spirituality. For Australians, ANZAC Day generates an uncharacteristically serious sense of national pride. Australians don’t have to be practicing Christians to celebrate ANZAC Day, and yet it does speak of a powerful and common sense theology. ANZAC Day does not glorify war—at least, it shouldn’t—but it does speak so powerfully of sacrificial love; it does remind us that we are dependant or reliant on one another. As we give thanks for peace, we do so acknowledging the price that others paid on our behalf. In a world full of words, the only response we can make to ANZAC Day is a profound and reverent silence. Page | 2
Jesus of Nazareth went about teaching others about the love of God. Sadly, the language and the concepts were too complex and too confronting for most of his students. When words lost their effect, he relied entirely on an act of sacrificial love; a gesture that expressed the most common sense theology of God’s boundless love for human kind. As we continue to kneel at the foot of the cross, we do so in unity with countless others around the world who have come to understand the meaning of this same sacrificial love. We kneel with monarchs and the homeless; we kneel with the aged and the young; we kneel with people of every race, as we too acknowledge our dependence on one another, and yet more importantly, we acknowledge our dependence on this King we serve. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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