On Saturday morning before the sun even rises in our land, the coronation of King Charles the Third will be under way, beginning at 4am.  Many will choose not to rise for the occasion and will instead watch clips later in the day or read about it afterwards. 
 
Regardless of whether you watch it or not, as Anglicans, many aspects of the service will be familiar to you. The coronation service is, at its heart, a service of Holy Eucharist.  
 
The theme of the coronation is “faith and service.”  It begins with a procession of faith leaders, and the first words spoken in the service, are by a child, as a reminder that the true king is God – the King of kings – and we are all God’s children.  King Charles’ first words in response will be an affirmation that, in the name of Jesus, and through the example of Jesus “I come not to be served, but to serve”.  
 
After the Easter Greeting – the same one used in our liturgies – the King will be presented to the people, and then presented with a Bible. This is the first gift given to the King with the words,

“Receive this book, the most valuable thing that this world affords.  
Here is Wisdom; 
This is the royal Law;
These are the lively Oracles of God”

The service will continue with more oaths, and gifts, with a holy anointing and the crowning of the new monarch and of his Queen. But central to the service is the reminder the true king, and one we should follow is none other than Jesus Christ our Lord.  
 
It has been much discussed that this will be the first coronation service that acknowledges and involves members of other faith traditions. As will be stated, for Christians, this openness of respect for others is Gospel-based.  The service in this regard is not only highlighting our Anglican tradition, but the important role of faith in society today. 
 
For those who are interested, I commend to you the order of service for Saturday’s coronation, The Coronation Liturgy with Commentary, as a way to deeper appreciate this Holy Liturgy. 
 
Regardless of your opinions about the new king, and whether you a decide to watch or pay attention to the service or not, I invite you to pray for him. Pray that the coronation service, which will be greatly examined, will honour God, and that King Charles will be able to live out the vows he is taking to live a life of service to others with God’s help.
 
Prayer: 
 
Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour:
look with favour upon thy servant Charles our King,
and bestow upon him such gifts of wisdom and love
that we and all thy people
may live in peace and prosperity
and in loving service one to another;
to thine eternal glory,
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit
reigns supreme over all things,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
 
Opening Collect from the Coronation Rite of His Majesty King Charles III

by Fr. Geoff Lloyd

Resurrection and Eternal Life have been my dominant thoughts since our Easter services. Not only the gratitude to God and Jesus for all they have done for all our sakes, but also reflecting on the mechanics of how it all works and asking the old chestnut question, “What will heaven be like?” Do you have those thoughts? In my 74th year I find I’m thinking about all this much more than I did 20 years ago! So, what happens when we get to heaven? Here’s an old story I’ve told before from Australia that might – or might not – help.

In Australia cricket is the national sport and it is every cricketer’s dream, at whatever level he or she may be playing, to score a hundred runs. To get a “century” is a great achievement. There was a cricketer playing for his club in a rural part of Australia and his father used to come and watch his son play in every match. Well, actually, he didn’t watch because he was blind. He always used to sit on the top, not able to see anything, but he could hear everything – the crack of the ball on the bat, the excitement of the crowd as the game advanced. But he had never seen his son play.

The time came for the final game of the season and, if the son’s team were going to be the champions, they had to win the game. But, in the week leading up to the game the father of the boy died. On the day the captain came to the boy rather fearfully, saying, “I will understand if you don’t feel like playing today.” Surprisingly, the boy replied that he would like to play if the captain wanted him in the team. So, the day after his father’s funeral he went out to bat with his team in extreme difficulty. He took his stance, faced the bowler and started his innings. He was brilliant. No one had seen him play like it before. He reached his “century”, he saved his side, they became champions. When they were back in the pavilion after the game, his friends came up and said, “However did you do it? You must have thought of your father, no longer there on the side of the hill, listening to you play. How did you play like that today?” The boy just said, simply,” You see, I had to play like that today. I believe today was the first time my father saw me bat.”

I do not think I would be a Christian if I did not believe in eternal life. If I did not believe that cancer ridden bodies would be restored to their original beauty, that the blind will see and the deaf will hear, I would question the justice and mercy of God. But Jesus said,” In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Death in other words is God pushing us off the ledge into eternity. Alleluia!

A Prayer from St. Ignatius of Loyola:

Teach us, Good Lord, to serve you as you deserve. To give and not to count the cost. To fight and not heed the wounds. To toil and not to seek for rest. To labour and not to ask for any reward except that of knowing we do Your Will.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Octave of Easter

The chocolate eggs, bunnies and jellybeans that have been in the grocery stores since March are now long gone, but as a church, our Easter celebration continues. 
 
As Christians we are Easter people – meaning we are people of the resurrection who believe not only in eternal life, but new life here and now as well.  And as such, we are invited to celebrate Easter not just for a day, but for a season!  
 
There are 40 days between Easter Sunday and the Feast of the Ascension. Then we add on an additional 10 more days of Easter celebration. That takes us to Pentecost Sunday, where we mark the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit to all people. 
 
That’s 50 full days of rejoicing, celebrating, and living into the new reality, in which we proclaim: sins are forgiven, new life is possible, death is not the end!

Of these 50 days, the very first week of Easter is set aside as particularly worthy of reflection and celebration.  From Easter Sunday to the second Sunday of Easter, this week is known specifically as the Octave of Easter.  These eight days are a time to truly sit and ponder and celebrate what the resurrection means to us.  
 
Our first thought when we hear of octaves may be to think of music. For in music, an octave refers to eight notes which start and end on the same tone but on different frequencies.  Musical scales generally span a single octave.  
 
Think back to the classic movie “The Sound of Music.” In it, the governess Maria teaches the Von Trapp children the musical scale when she sings the famous song “Do-Re-Mi”.  By this, we recall that the musical scale is “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do.”  Eight notes, which gradually rise until its pitch perfect equivalent is found and repeated (which brings us back to “Do”). 
 
In the same way, in the eight days of the first week of Easter, and for the eight Sundays between Easter Day and the Feast of Pentecost, we too are invited to journey step by step into the Easter miracle.   The base note – “Jesus has risen!” – will be the same. At the end of our Easter journey each year however, our understanding of the miracle and how it impacts us, and the world should shift.  Easter should change us as Christians. 
 
Friedrich Nietzsche once declared “I might believe in the Redeemer if his followers looked more redeemed.” 
 
How will this week, and this season of Easter, move you, and make a difference for you?  How can the resurrection lift you up and put a new song in your heart? 
 
Prayer: 
 
Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new.
Inspire a song in our hearts
to help us grow as we sing your praises
and glorify your Holy Name;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen