Queen, Country and Creation
Preacher: Revd Dr Donald MacEwan, University Chaplain
Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8; Luke 24:36-48
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’
Isaiah recounts this question, or perhaps this calling masquerading as a question, to himself. God invited him, a human being, of unclean lips, someone who says the wrong thing, to be his messed-up messenger, his imperfect prophet.
Hundreds of years later, the risen Christ showed himself to his disciples, and explained that he was the fulfilment of all the hopes and expectations of his people and their scriptures. And to all these friends who had failed him, who had slunk away from his trial and crucifixion, he said this: You are my witnesses. You have seen and heard in me the Messiah; you have experienced forgiveness for your flaws – now show and tell it.
This is the annual Alumni Weekend for the University. It is a celebration of the St Andrews experience, of what is learned in classes and outside them. It is a discovery of exciting research today, and careers which can flow from a degree here. At its heart perhaps is that distinctive something which stays with St Andrews graduates – happy memories, yes – but also that sense of being educated for a broader purpose. Graduates are sent into the world usually with the words from Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor in their ears, et super te – meaning, and on you too. And they are sent to their circles of care of family and friends, to work and society, to commitment and creation. Alumni show and tell of their formation here.
His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh may not have graduated from this University, though he attended his grandson’s graduation, Prince William’s, in 2005. Philip’s own Scottish education was in the rather more spartan environment of Gordonstoun on the Moray coast, in the 1930s. Moreover he was Chancellor of Edinburgh University for over 50 years, from where I graduated in Divinity in 1996. Yet his was surely a life lived in answer to invitations as were heard by Isaiah, Jesus’ disciples and St Andrews alumni. Who will go for us? You are my witnesses. Et super te.
Where was Philip’s vocation lived out? Surely in service. And principally in service to the Queen. Their long marriage has had every appearance of happiness. As the Queen put it on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary, “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.” There is something almost scriptural in the simplicity of this expression of gratitude to her husband.
Beyond domestic affection, Prince Philip has shown unwavering commitment to the Queen in her duties. At her coronation, he promised to become her liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship. Before his retirement just a few years ago, he loyally attended thousands of events, in the UK, Commonwealth and beyond, taking his side of the street on walkabouts, hands clasped behind his back, his wit – sometimes unguarded – ready to emerge to make things a little more interesting.
Indeed Philip himself, about 60 years ago, became of huge interest and indeed of worship to people from two villages in Vanuatu, an island archipelago in the South Pacific. They believe him to be the descendant of a spirit or god who lives on one of the island’s mountains. They will have their own ceremonies over coming days to mark his death, and they may transfer divinity to Prince Charles.
Not only has the Duke of Edinburgh served the Queen, but also his country. He gave distinguished service in the Royal Navy during and after the Second World War, particularly in the North Atlantic in the dangerous work protecting convoys from attack. Our order of service today features the stained glass window behind me. Unveiled in 1950 by his mother-in-law, the then Queen Elizabeth, it is a memorial to the Second World War, and the image at the very top left is the badge of the Royal Navy, above St Andrew, a fisherman. And one of our ushers today is a student in the Royal Naval Reserve.
We also heard from Sam of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Over 8m young people have taken part, 6m in the UK and 2m elsewhere. They have gained experience in volunteering, physical endeavour, skills, taking part in expeditions and residential opportunities. Borrowing from his Gordonstoun experience of outdoor pursuits, which he loved, the Duke has encouraged a sense of vocation in young people.
Prince Philip has been patron, president or honorary member of hundreds of other charities and organisations, believing that by lending support to good things, he could make a small but significant difference to people’s lives. But perhaps his greatest interest and focus of his life of service has been creation. He had presidential roles in the World Wildlife Fund for 35 years, being deeply concerned with conservation. For the Duke, this emerged as part both of his faith and his interest in science. He was convinced that this world emerged from and with God’s loving hand, and also believed that such a faith was entirely compatible with the discoveries of science. He often gathered scientists, bishops and theologians together at Windsor Castle, and would listen attentively, only occasionally telling the scientists what they had meant.
And when he addressed the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1969, he made this point:
It is worth remembering that contemporary scientific knowledge is the direct outcome of Christian civilisation. Christianity perhaps more than any other of the great religions, is based on a realistic involvement in the material world and, with one or two rather famous exceptions, the Christian Church has encouraged the search for truth and the work of scholars both outside and within its own ranks. The beginning of this process of discovery started a long time ago but it has been accelerating ever since.
We heard in the vision of Isaiah that the whole earth is full of God’s glory. And indeed, the prince believed wholeheartedly that God is in creation. He has been quoted as saying that for him “nature itself becomes divine” – an intriguing approach, albeit on the edge of orthodoxy. He strongly believed that responsibility for this precious creation should not be an insight of the Christian faith alone. He brought together leaders from many faiths to discuss religion and the environment as early as 1986, founding the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, which has been instrumental in promoting interfaith action on environmental issues.
Of course this work is far from finished, and perhaps is still in its infancy. Climate change is the greatest problem facing the planet, part of a wide range of environmental effects of our species. The words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans we heard earlier somehow seem more relevant than ever: creation is in bondage to decay, and has been groaning in labour pains. Of all Prince Philip’s legacies which we could maintain and deepen, this surely is one not to let go.
Understanding between different faiths mattered greatly to Philip, as to his son Prince Charles. The Duke of Edinburgh was himself a Greek Orthodox Christian before becoming an Anglican. And he had a profound respect for Judaism. On a private visit to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem, he wrote in the visitors’ book words from the final verse of the book of Ecclesiastes from the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament: God brings everything we do to judgment.
By all accounts, Prince Philip wanted as modest a funeral as possible. Yesterday – for all the sense of occasion – was a small family funeral. In that way it resembled all funerals across this country over the past year and more, including a number taken by Sam or me. Bereavement is never easy, but losses this year, regardless of the cause of death, have been particularly difficult. There have been restrictions on medical consultations and treatments, on visiting by family and friends, on numbers at funerals and on those consoling gatherings afterwards. The Queen’s role is, in part, to represent the nation to itself: never has that been clearer than over this past nine days or so.
We will uphold the Queen and the Royal Family in their loss, as we uphold students, staff, alumni and friends of the University in theirs. In this season of Easter, we hear the words of the risen Jesus Christ to his friends: Why are you frightened? Peace be with you. We can be united in hope that rest eternal will be granted unto Prince Philip, and that light perpetual will shine upon him.
God brings everything we do to judgment. Prince Philip may not have been a deity, and his words (as is true for us all) sometimes showed limits to his patience. But his life was one of an abiding acceptance of that invitation to serve which he heard early, and continued to hear throughout his life. The invitation to serve Queen, country and creation.
‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’
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