What does the Queen’s Jubilee mean to you? Can you remember 1952 as if it was yesterday? Do you remember going round a year later to a neighbour’s house, who had the only television in the street, and huddling round to watch the Coronation on a very much not widescreen black and white set? Or like me were you not even born and only know of this through history? Is this an important celebration for you in our national life as faithful subjects rejoice in a long reign of a dedicated monarch? Or do you see yourself much more as a citizen of a new Britain where hereditary privilege or service (depending on how you look at it) belongs to the past? Perhaps both ends of those poles are too extreme for you and there is a mixture somewhere in between.

We come to this Jubilee with a wide variety of views about what to celebrate, even whether to. As we look back 10 years, let alone 50, life is very different. If anyone told me 10 years ago that I would launch sermons on the internet, I would have looked at them wide eyed! If we look on 10 years, even 50, we will see even more dramatic changes. Will the monarchy survive? Will the Church of England still be the Established Church in this land? The former may well turn out to be more secure than the latter!

The Queen is frequently quoted as saying that she sees her position as a vocation of service and one that is with her until death. Almost a marriage between monarch and people, which only death parts. And given the circumstances which led to her father’s accession, then perhaps we can understand why that might go very deep indeed. Fifty years of service deserves our salute, whatever our opinion of monarchy.

I am told that bishops have to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown that recognises no higher authority within this kingdom than that of the Queen. Clearly that has its origins in the sixteenth century Reformation and a redefining of our relationship with the Pope! But national sovereignty has now been modified through the treaties that have led to European Courts and International Courts. We could in theory pull out of all of these, but the world is not like that any more and it is in our interests and everyone else’s to have mechanisms like this which require us to let go of some of our independence. As we face the threat of a war between two nuclear powers in the Indian subcontinent, and look at the mass movement of displaced peoples which European conflicts have brought to our doorstep, we should not forget what lies behind these treaties.

A Jubilee is a celebration, but it is not a celebration of an isolated Britain. It is a celebration of cooperation and the harmony of peoples of different nationalities and races, of different genders and ages, of different creeds and political philosophies, working for the common good, for the common wealth. A jubilee should open us up to those around us, to our neighbours in our street. It calls us to cross frontiers, to celebrate our common humanity. So street parties have much to commend them. As we think of all people as our brothers and sisters, so we look for a global economy that is truly global. In sport ... well, you can go too far with this - I still hope for an English victory over Sweden later on this morning, but of course only in a spirit of international friendship!

The word Jubilee has roots in the bible, which we are now well used to hearing. In the 50th year, so the book of Leviticus tells us, there was to be a restoration of land to those who had lost it. It was a fire break in trading that was to ensure that no group lost out through the cumulative effects of years of bad fortune and no one could amass more wealth and power than was healthy. Many have been asking questions about how that principle can be put into practice in an economy that has long since moved away from the tribal and the local to embrace literally the globe.

In the run up to the Millennium there was a campaign called Jubilee 2000. This continues under the name of Jubilee Plus. It looks at the unrepayable debt that is crippling developing countries and calls on the rich one third of the world to write off this debt for the poor two thirds. This is a fire break policy inspired by the ancient notion of jubilee, it is a way of trying to rectify the cumulative effects of years of bad fortune and calls on one group to give up the unhealthy wealth they have amassed at the expense of the poor for the common good, for the common wealth. It reminds us that to fail to do this is not sustainable in the long term and will reap a bitter harvest.

Our readings this morning both looked at the foundations on which we seek to build our common life (Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28; Matthew 7:21-29). They looked at what lies at the root of our living. For Christians our house is to be built on God who makes himself known in and through Jesus. We are to grow in his likeness and dedicate ourselves to shaping our lives as his disciples, as people who discipline their wills as his followers. It is our firm belief that this is the rock on which to build and that it will and has stood the test of time, that it is tried against the buffeting of the tides.

It is a testimony to the glory of God, though, that we can also find a common currency with others of good will who nonetheless follow different religious traditions, even none. We have no monopoly on ethics and moral behaviour. As trust builds, as we honour one another as people, we will find that we can critique what each community says. If we are honest we know that there are some things in all communities and religious practices that do not contribute to the common good, to the common wealth. There are also times that we find we speak the same language, even if the words are different. A multi-cultural society in a pluralistic world has to pay particular attention to the bonds that can unite. It also has to be clear what it is that shapes our individual identities, but not in an isolationist way. If we are not rooted then we become prey to the distorting and destabilising effects of the extremists. A bit of flag waving can help the cause of peace when it is celebratory but not when it is reactionary.

None of this says whether we should get on with entering the Euro or stay on the edge of it. I have spoken to a former governor of the Bank of England in favour of it and heard economists who question it. Personally I think the case is still to be made. But it does ask us to look at what lies behind our attitude to it and if there is any trace of isolationism to ask if that is actually healthy. Whatever line we take, the pound is linked to a global economy and has long since ceased to be related to our gold reserves.

The Queen’s Jubilee is an opportunity to celebrate our national life, our place within the family of all humanity as God’s children. We can be thankful for a largely stable society, but not be complacent. It is not supposed to be divisive, rather the opposite. What does it mean to be English within a devolved union? What does it mean to be British within international treaties that call for a pooling of interests? How do we cross the frontiers within a multi-cultural society and beyond to a pluralistic world? In all of this we are reminded that the jubilee of the bible is founded on the rock of justice, on the rock of all being honoured and particularly of defending those who are less strong against those who would walk over them.

As we celebrate we also look at the foundation on which we build our personal lives, our national life, and our international relations. None of these are to be isolationist, rather open to our neighbours whoever they may be. It calls on us to reach across frontiers to a unity that embraces all humanity as brothers and sisters under God. Let us then dedicate ourselves to the true spirit of Jubilee that the whole world may have cause to rejoice with us; but I’m still looking for an English victory* in Japan later on this morning!

© Ian Black 2002

* The final score was England 1, Sweden 1.

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