Being the Queen of England is a powerless position; the decision-making power lies with Parliament and the Prime Minister. Yet Queen Elizabeth II's influence was breathtaking to behold. People who would normally change lanes right before a stoplight to be one car length ahead in order to save two seconds on their commute, waited for as long as 24 HOURS just to walk past the queen's COFFIN. And they considered themselves fortunate and blessed. What does this phenomenon say about our human nature? l think several things at least.

  1. We long for continuity and dependability more than we realize. We tend to enjoy our self-induced distractions and ability to "multi-task," doing many things and convincing our ego that this is some measure of our worth. The fact that hundreds of thousands stood in line through chilly nights just to catch a glimpse of history suggests that, like Martha's sister Mary in the story, we truly yearn for the more important part – simply being in the presence of someone unique and historic.

  2. In an age of individualism, we also long for a collective tradition. Words and movements we know and can practice together reinforce our common connection with that tradition and with one another. The pageantry "fit for a queen" somehow dignified everyone who felt a part of something bigger than themselves.

  3. Following 1 and 2 above, we realize the saving power of coming together for someone good and right and aspirational. The Queen transcended 70 years of very tumultuous history and did so with grace, dignity and hope; sounds a lot like the church at its best.

Christ asked the weeping Mary who was mourning the loss of her Lord, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" We serve not a queen, but a Lord who has transcended nearly 2000 years of tumultuous history. A Lord who is not dead, but very much alive amongst us, most prominently when we worship together in various styles of pageantry.

I am under no illusions. I am not expecting people to wait 24 hours in line to experience Christ this Sunday at FUMC Plano. However, we might all be a bit better people if we gave Christ more than the two seconds saved when we changed lanes to get on with the busyness of our lives.

God save the queen … and all of us,