The death of Queen Elizabeth II is a moment for the world to mark the end of a well-lived life and the message of hope it conveys.
To be thankful for her life is not at all justifying the injustice perpetrated by the British Empire before and during her reign.
It is, rather, an acknowledgement that individuals of strong moral character can do good in an imperfect political system and an imperfect world.
Often, too often, in fact, leaders do not rise above the worst in politics and government, but succumb to it and make both worse during their time in office.
Queen Elizabeth did not do that. She did so much better, and that is why there is universal sadness over her passing. A light has been extinguished.
Death comes to us all, sometimes out of season and in all instances leaving behind those who wish it had not come at all. The older you get, the more you think about your own life and your own death, but from the attitude of those who have gone before us, a life well lived helps one to face its end.
The prospect of death can be a catalyst for seeing just how short life is and why living it well is so important. I think about that a lot these days because of the constant chaos and bitter divisions driving our national life.
I wonder why people who are angry about the state of affairs find it difficult to calm down and get some perspective on things. Nothing is ever just the way we see it or think it is.
Life is too ambiguous to be simple, which is why unreasoned and sometimes thoughtless responses make matters worse rather than better. We all know that the angrier we become, the less effective we also become in solving a problem we are angry about.
That is common sense wisdom born of living, but in today’s America too many people are controlled by their anger rather than controlling it. Some of the texts and tapes of phone threats public figures have received shows how serious this problem is.
It’s also a sad way to live. People who are angry and live out of it have to miserable. There is no way to be happy when anger is eating you up.
That’s why evangelical Christians are such an enigma. Jesus once said that his teachings were intended to bring us the kind of joy he had, and if we listened to him our lives would feel whole and complete (John 15:11).
If evangelicals are joyful people, no one knows it because they have earned the reputation of being judgmental and self-righteous, full of moral outrage rather than joy.
The reason they seem angry is because that is how Moral outrage affects people. A moral crusader is someone who is sure he or she knows how other people should live and is determined to force them to do so by any means possible. Such a crusader is the epitome of Jesus exposing the human tendency to see the speck in someone else’s eye while missing the plank in our own.
When applied to real life, his words warn us that moral blindness leads to moral crusades steeped in judgmentalism, steeped in self-righteousness.
There cannot be any happiness or joy for people living that way, and when I think of how short life is, I wonder why anyone would choose to.
None of us knows whether we have another minute, another hour, another day, another week, month, or year to live. We only know we have an existential moment.
Queen Elizabeth herself said as much: “Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God.”
Doing that doesn’t just happen. It takes attending to important things while resisting the temptation to allow anger and grievance and bitterness to fill our minds and poison our hearts.
When you have already lived longer than you know you will live, as is true for me, trying to do what is right, taking the long view and giving the best in all that the day brings, ultimately trusting the outcome to God, seems to be the key to having real joy in the living of these days.
So, farewell to a great woman, a Queen who never let being Britain’s reigning Monarch go to her head. Her pledge was to serve the people she represented and she did so with grace and humility that enabled her to maintain tradition while bringing change that allowed her to keep up with the times.
A life well-lived is an example for all of us, even those of us not British. Because of how she lived, her death is now an occasion to remember that even a long life is too short to waste.
The day we grasp that truth we will cease to focus on things of monumental insignificance and, instead, do our best in attending to the things that truly matter.
Damn Jan, how do you do it?! How can you link together Queen Elizabeth, the reality of impending death, the joy of Jesus, the ignorance of evangelicals, and the sadness of the hate-filled among us — all the while making the case for a well-lived life! “A light has been extinguished,” but good people carry on. I am in awe of what you do, my good friend!
Bill Blackwell
Bill, I didn’t realize I was stringing together all the pieces you named. I was just writing what came to mind as I thought about her life. You made it sound better than I thought it was. Thank you!
Love this Jan. 🤗
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
Thank you for saying that, Marguerite.
Jan,
Bill said it well. Your narrative of thoughts flows well and makes excellent sense.
I agree that Queen Elizabeth II was a remarkable woman, but I’m at a loss to understand the American fascination with the British Monarchy. (I understand that it is a major news story.) Didn’t we fight a war to rid us of the British attempts to oppress our exploration of a new way of life.
I grant that our jurisprudence and some aspects of our government is influenced by that of the UK.
But still . . .
Cheerz!
Gene
Gene, I think we admire it from. distance, but not up close and personal.
As always such a GREAT MESSAGE,thanks I really needed to hear that today.I truly miss all of your messages and remembering them helps me get through these trying times.Thanks again for helping me to be the bestbbI can be.
I always appreciate your comments, Margo. Thanks.
Well said, my friend. Life’s actions and reflections are intertwined in a life well lived. Your actions/reflections still teach so many of us! Thank you. Sending love and hugs,
Jane Stout
Nice to hear from you, Jane. I am glad you find my blogs helpful. We’ve been friends for more years than either of us can count. Thank you for your comment. A hug back at you.
Brother, I love part of this, but once u brought up evangelical Christians, which I’m not a part of, it lost all its savor! Are evangelicals the only ones that are “angry”? Why single them out if this message is about finding good in a bad situation, and seeing life from a proper perspective, with the realization that “nothing is ever just the way we see it or think it is.” – to use your own words.
Actually I know a few people that are very angry at the queen and wish she’ll burn in hell(their own words), and they are not evangelicals. The most angry and miserable people I see these days, again from my perspective, are also not evangelicals. So why single them out?
My man, you have simply failed to rise above your own prejudices while claiming to want others to rise above theirs.
No denying your writing talent, but the only people that’ll see any useful substance in this piece are those who already think like you do. So if you want to continue to preach to the choir, carry on, but if you want to speak the truth, you must rise above your own prejudices.
In spite of the sharp criticism you make of my criticism of evangelicals, I actually appreciate what you have said. It gave me much to think about. I, of course, disagree with what you say in most respects, but that doesn’t prevent me from respecting what you said. But let me respond to what you seem to believe is the core weakness of the piece – my criticism of evangelicals. I single them out because I am a Christian minister who sees what they are doing to the faith I represent as morally and theological wrong. Moreover, the effect of what they are doing is to make that faith cause for faux culture wars that are helping to tear the nation apart. I see what I say about them as akin to one family member speaking the truth to another in order to save the family. In regard to preaching to the choir, I suppose I would say guilty as charged. I try to provide accurate in information that a diverse group of readers will find helpful, but I have no desire to try to persuade people on the right to my point of view. I see that as a hopeless task. My goal is to help people who hold at least similar views as I do to have facts to use in their own way and to be assured that they are not alone. At the same time, I welcome readers like you who do not. As long as they respond in a civil way as you did, I also welcome their criticisms. So thank you for your comment.
Two years ago Stephen Cottrell, the newly enthroned Archbishop of York, wrote a book entitled “Dear England”, about a conversation with a Barrista in a coffee bar at King’s Cross station in London, that he had before going back by train to his home in York. I purchased a copy, which I have since loaned to a friend of mine in our church. My attention was caught when I read of one comment made by the lady serving the coffee, that: “…there are people who cling to their faith so tightly, that it frightens other people away”. It was precisely this attitude that led me turn away from fundamentalism.
The reason for your decision, Nigel, resonates with many of us. Because fundamentalism has taken over evangelicalism, it is now what frightens people away.