This sermon was preached at St Edmund’s Church, Egleton at the 9.15am Holy Communion Service on Sunday 7th May 2023.

Bible Readings: 1 Kings 3:5-10; Romans 13:1-10; Luke 22:24-30

‘Your Majesty, as children of the Kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of Kings.’

‘In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served but to serve.’

These are the words that began the coronation service yesterday at Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was filled with over two thousand people ranging from lords and ladies to heads of state and other celebrities. Yet it was a young chorister, Samuel Strachan, who began the service. A young child of no fame, out of all those great people present, was the first to greet the King in the service. And young Samuel began by reminding the world that King Charles stands alongside him as a fellow child of God. Samuel reminded us that as we crown Charles as King, that there is a greater King of Kings that reigns over all of us. At the start of the coronation, setting the tone for all that is to follow in the service and over the weekend is the proclamation that Jesus is the King of Kings above us all. 

As we celebrate our new King, we hold before us that Jesus is the King of Kings, the greatest king in all of existence. Yet, Jesus does not laud his power and greatness over others like the ungodly kings. Instead he says to his disciples, ‘the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.’ For all the honour and glory that Jesus deserves as the greatest king, he says that he is here to be like the youngest, like the least, like a servant. Our King Jesus is our Servant King. I wonder if King Charles felt like Jesus came to greet him in this voice of the young chorister, Samuel.  

After Samuel greeted King Charles in the name of Jesus, the King replied, ‘In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served but to serve.’ This is his call as a Christian King, to follow the example of Jesus, who as the King of Kings did not bask in his glory, but rather humbled himself in order to serve others. At the heart of the service and what it means to follow Christ, is to serve. It is the call on us all. We stand alongside King Charles as followers of Jesus and whatever our rank or station, whether we are rich or poor, we are to humble ourselves like Christ to be a servant of all. 

To be a servant to all we meet is a good thing but challenging for us to do at the best of times. So, when I think of King Charles’ call to be a servant of all, I think of his “all” equating to millions of people across many nations. Could you imagine the weight of responsibility to serve that many people? Surely only a King could relate to how King Charles could be feeling. 

The coronation service is influenced by the coronation of King Solomon by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet in 1 Kings 1. And having been made King, Solomon is greeted by God who wishes to give him a gift. In response to this Solomon talks to God about how he feels now he is King. He says, ‘I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.’ Solomon is overwhelmed and at a loss of how to take on this great task of serving the people. He feels helpless and unable to complete his task unless he has the help of Almighty God. And so, Solomon turns to God and asks for his wisdom that he may know how to serve faithfully as King. I suppose that King Charles would be feeling likewise and is why all of the coronation service looks to God for his guidance and blessing to be with King Charles so that he may faithfully carry out his role. The task of serving is great, and is why all Christians should follow the example of the coronation that reminds us that we must turn to our Servant King Christ Jesus for his help to carry out our service. 

As I said earlier, our task is to be servants of all, and that includes our new King Charles. Some of you might be saying, why does that matter; surely being a servant of King Jesus is the ultimate task of our service? And yes, being a servant of Jesus is our ultimate task, however, our reading from Romans reminds us that God calls us to submit to earthly authorities as well, including the King. Paul writes, ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.’ King Charles’ authority comes from God and him alone, and therefore submitting to him as King is an act of submission to God and his work in and through King Charles. In submitting to Charles as our King, we are submitting to Jesus as the King of Kings who is the one ruling in the King’s heart. In serving King Charles, we are serving God.

The theme of the coronation service was ‘called to serve’ and it is the theme of our Christian lives. The coronation points us to our heavenly king Jesus and how whoever we are, rich as a king or poor as a pauper, our call as Christians remains the same: to serve. Yesterday during his sermon at the coronation, Archbishop Justin Welby said that ‘service is love in action.’ In service we are living out our Christian lives of love, love for God and love for our neighbour. We follow the example of our Servant King who showed us that service of all looks like giving all of yourself in love for the sake of others. That is what King Jesus did when he gave his life for us on the cross. So, may this day we serve our Servant King, our King Charles, and our neighbour. Because in our service we share Christ’s love and in our call as his disciples to serve and not be served. 

Amen.