EXTRA TIME

A Message of Love and Hope

December 26, 2020 at 5:23 pm Leave a comment

^{“Regardless of gender, race or background,” the Queen said in her Christmas speech 2020, “each one of us is special and equal”}.

The Queen described Christianity as “my inner light”. In an age of declining church attendance, when even clerics sometimes feel nervous about articulating their beliefs in public, the Queen’s broadcast offers a refreshingly straightforward expression of belief – and the humanist values that underscore all religions, speaking to those who have no faith at all.

The story of the Good Samaritan, said Her Majesty, was an instructive example of someone who showed “care and respect” to anyone who needs it, regardless of background.

^{She interpreted the New Testament parable, where a Jew was rescued by someone from Samaria although their communities were at odds, as a biblical endorsement of diversity; “Good Samaritans have emerged across society showing care and respect for all, regardless of gender, race or background, reminding us that each one of us is special and equal in the eyes of God.”}

^{At Christmas Her Majesty again compared the struggle against coronavirus with the sacrifices of warfare. Her message included a film of herself in Westminster Abbey paying a socially-distanced tribute at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior to mark the centenary of his burial.}

^{“In the United Kingdom and around the world, people have risen magnificently to the challenges of the year, and I am so proud and moved by this quiet, indomitable spirit.”}

^{The Queen repeatedly emphasised hope. “Even on the darkest nights, there is hope in the new dawn,” she said, seated in front of a brightly lit tree. Let the light of Christmas — the spirit of selflessness, love and above all hope — guide us in the times ahead.”}

^{She specifically linked that hope with scientists, a clear signal of praise to the inventors of vaccines to fight the virus. Florence Nightingale’s lamp, she said, was kept shining by frontline services “supported by the amazing achievements of modern science — and we owe them a debt of gratitude”.}

^{One of the main topics if this year’s Christmas address to the nation was diversity.}

^{The London Olympic Games of 2012 are fondly recalled as showing Britain at its most generous and welcoming, and for the ethnic diversity of its athletes. But since then, Brexit has shown a different, less likable attitude of the country and caused a rift that runs through British society.}

^{Therefore the diversity of the British society was was a theme aptly chosen.}

^{Britain has changed markedly in the 68 years of the Queen’s reign. Among the reasons that she commands popular respect, even in an age when habits of deference have long since been eclipsed, is that she is attuned to the way Britain and the Commonwealth are in reality rather than in myth. That awareness helps to bind the nation amid the adversity wreaked by the global pandemic.}

^{In a year of immense hardship the Queen’s message has emphasised the cohesion of British society. It is not a mere platitude but a source of wisdom and encouragement, reinforced by the knowledge that she has seen much in her long reign.}

Links:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-the-queens-speech-at-christmas-royal-reason-mp2k0bvlh

The Queen guides us through dark times
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/460/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/460/pub/460/page/63/article/117188

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