麻豆约拍

A reflection and prayer on the day of Her Majesty the Queen's funeral with the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.

Good morning.

Every funeral, reminds us of other funerals we鈥檝e attended and all the other people we鈥檝e lost. The scars of bereavement ache. They feel like an open wound again, like the ones we loved and miss only died yesterday.

And funerals always look in two directions: back in thanksgiving on the life of the one who has died; forward with hope..

We鈥檒l do both these things today as we remember her Majesty the Queen and commend her to God.

Through so many changes, she has been a source of reassurance and continuity. But her reassurance and her continuity was found in Jesus Christ and in her Christian faith. This is what sustained her life of service to our nation and to the commonwealth.

Therefore, we do indeed look forward in hope. Death is not the end, but the gateway to life eternal, the new heaven and the new earth, where every tear is wiped away.

The Queen lived by, and died holding onto, this faith in Jesus Christ. It is in his name, that we commend her to God, and pray for all who are bereaved, and especially for the King and all the members of the royal family.

Lord, as we acknowledge the faith that so shaped the Queen鈥檚 life might that steadfast trust in God turn out to be her best and final gift to us; that we too may turn to Christ and find in him our hope.

Amen

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