Moderator

I should go on record as saying I am not a Monarchist, nor am I a particular fan of pomp and circumstance and established protocols.  I grew up singing, “My country ‘tis of Thee, sweet land of liberty,” not “God save our gracious Queen, long live our noble Queen.”  And yet I must admit that I was truly excited and honoured to have the opportunity to meet the Queen.  I dutifully rehearsed my lines and practiced my head bows and learned the proper etiquette to follow when in the presence of the Queen.  I agonized over what to wear and what to say and how to say it.

Upon reflection, however, it wasn’t so much meeting the Queen that I found most meaningful or memorable (it happened so fast, I can hardly recall the experience).  What I found most impressive was the whole atmosphere of being in the presence of the Queen.  To my surprise, despite all the official protocols and titles, there was something profoundly democratic about the whole experience.  There were so many people holding significant offices in government or military or religion that after a while it was not Lieutenant General Devlin, it was simply Peter, and it was not Right Reverend Hiltz, it was simply Fred.  It didn’t matter whether one was an Officer in the Order of Canada or the General of the Canadian Armed Forces or the Minister of Finance for the federal government or the Moderator of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, we all waited in line like everyone else to have a few seconds to greet the Queen on behalf of those we represented.

In the monarchical system as it has evolved in Canada, it doesn’t matter what our rank or station – whether we are a parking lot attendant or the Prime Minister of Canada – we are all servants of the Queen, who is herself a servant of the people.  The fact that everyone addresses her as “Your Majesty” is in fact a great leveller of status, simultaneously lifting up the lowest in rank and lowering the highest in rank. Surely this is a reflection of the profound spiritual significance of what we experience as we submit to the sovereign grace of the true King of kings (and queens), Jesus Christ our Lord, who shed his blood that we might all attain true royal status.   And as the lights suddenly came on as we stood in line to greet the Queen, as my own name was called to be introduced to Her Majesty, I thought of the passage from 1^st Peter:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may    proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people;

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  (1^st Peter 2:9-10)