Today’s Scripture Reading (September
15, 2015): Numbers 4
She has
reigned longer than any other British Monarch. She is loved by most of her
subjects as well as by most of the rest of the world. Most have not experienced
any other King or Queen sitting on the Throne of England. She has been said to
be “above politics.” And she has watched the world change around her, and yet
somehow she has remained unchanged. She was crowned in 1953 at Westminster
Abbey as a twenty-five year old woman. She ruled over colonies that dotted the
planet, although most of them are gone now. And experts expect that those
colonies that remain may leave the Empire after her death, but not before. She
is held in too high regard for them to leave while she is still reigning on the
throne. She was the last of British Royals to be educated at home and she was
the first British Monarch to send an email (she sent the email in 1976) and the
first to send a tweet (in 2014). Her marriage has lasted for seventy years,
longer than that of any other British monarch and has outlasted the marriages
of three of her four children. She has led Britain with a quiet stability,
something that the British Empire needed more than anything else over the past 63
years.
And she has a motto. "There is a motto which has
been borne by many of my ancestors — a noble motto, 'I serve'," she said.
And serve she has. Since before she was Queen, she served. And because of that,
we serve her.
It is really all that is asked of any of us – that we
serve. The world is too full of bosses that believe that they are ruling the
world. Our politicians have forgotten that they too are here to serve (although
I have to admit that Donald Trump doesn’t remind me of a very good servant).
Servants are what we need. If we could somehow just understand our place and
decide that we were going to serve each other, no matter the cost, this world
would be a much better place in which to live. Every one of us needs to adopt
the Queen’s Motto – “I serve.” Nothing more or less is appropriate for us as
global citizens.
Serving was a role that described exactly what the
Kohathites were asked to do. Just serve. Their job was basically to carry the
Tabernacle from one place to another. Their job was not to lead, they were not
allowed to touch any of the items that they were carrying (special rods were
built to slip through hoops in the items so that all they would have to do was touch
the rods). They were only asked to carry. They would never ascend to a higher
position, that would be left to someone else. This was their lot – they served
the nation by carrying the Holy things of Israel.
Pope Francis commented in June 2013 that careerism
(the pursuit of advancement within the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church)
was a leprosy that had infected and threatened to destroy the church. Pope
Francis wasn’t wrong. But it is not just the Roman Catholics that are suffering
from this leprosy. Every denomination needs to hear the motto of the queen and
echo the example of the Kohathites - and simply serve. Even the best leaders recognize
this one paradox – they always lead better when they are willing to be the
servants of the ones that are following. It was something that Jesus modeled as
he took the towel and began to wash the feet of his disciples. It was the
command that he left with us – go and serve!
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers
5
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