Challenging Words at the Royal Wedding

I'm a big fan of clergy who assertively speak their minds within our increasingly relativistic culture. Two of the clergy who spoke at the Royal wedding, Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Cantebury) and Richard Chartres (Lord Bishop of London and Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal), made strong statements about marriage and the place God holds in people's lives.

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable 

Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, 

Primate of All England and Metropolitan

The Archbishop said this directly before leading the couple through their vows:

"I require and charge you both, as ye will answer at the dreadful day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, ye do now confess it. For be ye well assured, that so many as are coupled together otherwise than God's word doth allow are not joined together by God; neither is their matrimony lawful."

The Right Reverend and Right Honourable 

Dr Richard Chartres KCVO, 

Lord Bishop of London and 

Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal

Next, the Lord Bishop of London, who gave the homily, said this about marriage and God's place in the lives of Western people:

"As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We're all incomplete. We all need the love which is secure rather than oppressive. We all need mutual forgiveness in order to thrive. But as we move toward our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us, and can increasingly fill our lives with light. And this leads on to a family life, which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can receive and exchange those gifts, which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit whose fruits are love and joy and peace."

Good and challenging words.

(via http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8479433/Royal-wedding-the-Order-of-Service-in-full.html)

Royalty

As a good colonist and enthusiastic Anglican, I was excited to watch the Royal wedding yesterday. What really struck me was what all of this meant for Kate Middleton, HRH Duchess of Cambridge.

She grew up as, more or less, a "regular" person. She just happened to attend the same university as the future king. I wonder if she ever imagined that she would be Queen one day? Or that her children will be heirs to the British crown?

With that in mind, I can't help thinking about the (perhaps obvious) parallel to our destiny in Christ. We are joint heirs with him (Rom 8:17). In the very same way that HRH became royalty by being the bride of an heir to the throne, so will we be presented as the bride of Christ, and thus will be "royalty" by our marriage to Christ (Rev 21:2,9).

And while we wait for Christ's return as King, we speak and act as joint heirs with him, grafted into royal life with Jesus through the mercy of his cross.