The lesson which was read to us a few moments ago from St Matthew chapter 7 contained words of description and warning. They also gave us a sobering reminder of the nature of duty:

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven…”

To put it plainly – it is easy to aspire to an ideal, to call ‘Lord Lord’ – it is a different matter to engage in actions, to follow a life-style, which will add the dimensions of integrity to those ideals – the doing of the will of the Father.

At her Coronation Her Majesty made solemn vows to her people – but she made them primarily to Almighty God. Vows of service and dedication, vows of faithfulness and personal trusteeship of a sacred trust. Those vows represented the ideals. It was and is through the years since that we have seen the fulfilment of those ideals. It was and is in her life that we have seen the practical day by day translation of the ideal into reality.

Those solemn vows of the Coronation spoken in the special atmosphere of that historic service in Westminster Abbey must now be read with the touch-stone of experience. Few can doubt that they have withstood the test of time. In fact we have seen those vows enhanced by the passing years and enhanced by the personal dedication of the Queen as she has adapted her role to a changing world. In that enhancement we have been given a remarkable example of how it is possible to meet changing circumstances while maintaining the sanctity of eternal values and eternal truths.

Much has been said and written already this year about the reign of Elizabeth II. Many of those words have been a description of this generation. But it is against those world events that we place our recognition of the role of the Queen today. We have been reminded of events which have changed life in a changing world for all of us. World conflicts which have brought death and misery to many. World disasters which have caused hunger and homelessness for millions. Tensions which have produced fear and taken our world to the brink time and again. We have seen tragic as well as magnificent pictures of the best as well as the worst in human history. Within the British Commonwealth change which could not have been imagined at the Coronation has taken place with independence for nations and the alteration of ancient ties to the family of the same Commonwealth. Within the United Kingdom itself what can only be described as a ‘quiet revolution’ has seen a complete change in attitudes to relationships both personal and corporate, changes in what people believe to be the cornerstones of morality and the ‘good life’, changes in the role of ‘the family’ to say nothing of the changes we have seen in the structures of local communities and how we approach the economies of public and private life – all these and more have become indicators of how human experience has adapted and changed.

Here in Northern Ireland for many of our people the Monarchy holds a place of special meaning. That meaning has much to say about the past as well as the present. It has something to say about allegiance and ideal. Much though it at times has a ring of what some would term sentimentality about it, it does represent what can only be described as a way of life, a way of thinking and an aspiration. Beyond allegiance there is much which falls within genuine affection for Her Majesty. People have admired her determination to maintain those ideals of the Coronation oaths in the sea of change. In this media age the balance between historic concepts of Royalty and the need to ‘move with the times’ is indeed a delicate balance.

From the perspective of personal example the world has been in no doubt as to the role of Christian belief and faith in the life of the Queen. Her frequent references at times of national need as well as personal crisis and sadness to her faith in God and her Christian life-style have pointed us all to the essence of her personal belief. Beyond the fabric of ritual or public occasions we think of the person of Elizabeth II walking humbly day by day with her God.

If there is one word which tends to dominate our society today it must be the term ‘pluralism’. The multi-faith, multi-culture of the United Kingdom is now a reality. As we struggle at times to understand the real meaning of the truly pluralist society and come to terms with its implications for life we think of such terms as justice, reconciliation and understanding. While pluralism has special connotations in Northern Ireland it will surely be in the ways we learn to accept the pluralism of political, religious and cultural identities that will determine how just, how compassionate our society will be. At the root of that process is how we relate loyalty to an ideal and principles which do not necessarily change through time, to the needs of the present and the future. In the vital process of change let none of us forget what those who call ourselves Christians regard as the foundation of our belief – we are all made in the image of God. That is both the ideal and the reality.

The ideal – the practice. The juxta-relationship of the ideal, the hope, the vision – and the fulfilment of the ideal in everyday life is what makes us all what we are as people. Our memories and experience, our relationships and attitudes, but above all our sincerity and integrity in moving from the ideal to the reality is what we are as individuals. Here in Northern Ireland it is that same relationship between the ideal and the practice which will eventually move us into a new maturity as a community. That growing maturity has been seen so recently by the acknowledgement by people of differing allegiances who have recognised the importance of the Monarchy to so many. Today we recognise the years of translation of ideal into practice by Queen Elizabeth II with thankfulness to Almighty God. We acknowledge her example and witness to ideals. We thank God for a remarkable Sovereign for whom the ideal and the practice are one.

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven…”