Padre’s Peace

Not to be served, but to serve

A young person: “Your Majesty, As children of the kingdom of God, we welcome you in the name of the King of kings.”

The King:

“In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served, but to serve.”

The first words the King said at his Coronation in Westminster Abbey on 6th May were about serving others, not being served. It was moving and humbling, surrounded by symbols of such vast wealth and privilege (the crown jewels are apparently estimated at being worth a mere £1.3 billion, containing several of the largest diamonds in the world), that “service” should be at the front and centre of the whole proceedings.

Perhaps because this ancient, enormous wealth was so obviously on display that I then paused for a moment and became, I must confess, somewhat cynical. I pondered how someone brought up in palaces and castles and waited on by vast swathes of staff was ever going “not to be served, but to serve.” Maybe you felt the same way? Perhaps you pondered what it was all about? Yes, the music was beautiful, yes the moment of anointing poignant and powerful, yes

Penny Mordaunt’s core strength clearly is gargantuan, holding an enormous 3.6kg ceremonial sword for 51 minutes, but what’s all the pomp and ceremony got to do with serving others?

At this point we need to do a little theology (Theos Greek, meaning “God”, logos Greek, meaning “study”). The Coronation ceremony was a study of God lasting two hours. When the young person welcomed King Charles “in the name of the King of kings”, he was referring to a term used to describe Jesus in the Bible’s Book of Revelation (19:16). And when Charles responded, he was quoting Jesus himself in the Bible’s Gospel of Mark (10:45), where Jesus talking about himself says, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Back in 1918, when the then RAF Chaplains’ Branch was being founded, someone who knew a bit of theology thought that “Not to be served, but to serve” would be a good motto for Padres. And so they got the Latin dictionaries out and came up with: “Ministrare, non ministrari.” I’m very pleased they did come up with that saying because it is a reminder to me of who I am supposed to be and how I am supposed to be. Jesus was a servant king who washed his followers’ feet, put others’ needs before himself, and, in the words of another Bible passage “did not count his equality with God as something to be hung onto selfishly.” My job as a Padre is to listen to others, to respect all peoples, to offer advice and to speak the truth in love as a servant.

Then, long after 1918, someone in the RAF, looked at what our Core Values should be and came up with RISE: Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence. “Service” is at the heart of who we are in the Royal Airforce (and Army and Royal Navy). In fact, so much so, that we talk about “The Services” and certain things being “Tri-Service”.

To serve in the UK Armed Forces is to live a life of service. It is an honourable, worthy and praiseworthy thing to serve others, as we all, together, help to make the world a better place. We do it not only for the money (“we’re in it for the outcome, not the income!”), nor the pomp and ceremony of uniforms, medals and salutes. We serve because it is our duty. Even when it is uncomfortable and difficult and long and hard. And we keep doing it, again and again, because we serve alongside some superb colleagues who look out for each other and support us through some difficult times. Whenever it seems too heavy to bear the burden, we know that the welfare teams, medical centres, chaplains and the chain of command are there to support and care. Please make sure you use us. We are here to help you serve well!

Ministrare

non ministrari, Padre Philip Wilson

A complete clean sweep from RAF Benson wining every single category.