In his sermon for the National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen at St Paul's Cathedral, the Archbishop paid tribute to the selfless dedication of Her Majesty who 'has shown a quality of joy in the happiness of others' throughout her reign.
Some words from St Paul: 'Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.' There will be other occasions to remember the splendour and the drama of the Coronation; today's focus is different. What we remember is the simple statement of commitment made by a very young woman, away from home, suddenly and devastatingly bereaved, a statement that she would be there for those she governed, that she was dedicating herself to them.
It is an ambitious, even an audacious thing to aim at. It is, of course, no more so than the ideals set before all Christians who try to model their lives on what St Paul says about life in the Body of Christ. That doesn't make it any easier to grasp or to live out; but the way St Paul approaches it should help us see that we're not being encouraged to develop a self-punishing attitude, relentlessly denying our own goals or our own flourishing for the sake of others. What's put before us is a genuine embrace of those others, a willingness to be made happy by the well-being of our neighbours.
One crucial aspect of discovering such a vision – and many still do discover it in their service of others, despite everything – is to have the stories and examples available that show it's possible. Thank God, there are many wonderful instances lived out unobtrusively throughout the country and the Commonwealth. But we are marking today the anniversary of one historic and very public act of dedication – a dedication that has endured faithfully, calmly and generously through most of the adult lives of most of us here. We are marking six decades of living proof that public service is possible and that it is a place where happiness can be found. To seek one's own good and one's own well- being in the health of the community is sacrificially hard work – but it is this search that is truly natural to the human heart. That's why it is not a matter of tight-lipped duty or grudging compliance with someone else's demands. Jesus himself says 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me', and that's what is at the heart of real dedication.