It means much to the British that those who defend others are
by their Monarch defended.
With a surreal rustling of the twenty-three pound
Supertunica upon the Abbey floor, the Queen was making her way to the
Altar once again. Still bare-headed, she was bringing the Jewelled Sword
back to the Lord.
The Sword is made of steel, etched in blue and gold,
with a hilt of gold and with diamonds, rubies and emeralds on the pommel.
It lay flat and glittering upon the open palms of her
upturned hands; her concentration seemed divine and fierce and childlike, all
at the same moment. A Monarch, a Queen, a woman . . . a young woman . . .
covered from her neck to the floor in the coat of silk, each thread
wrapped in gold, bearing the Sword of the Offering, the Monarch's personal
sword, back to the Altar of God.
It could not remain there. The Marquess of Salisbury
stepped forward once more. In his hand was an embroidered bag, tied
tight. In it were 100 newly minted shillings, for the Sword had to be
redeemed. He who had born the Sword of State now bore the Queen's own
Sword. He would, according to royal tradition, "carry it naked
before her Majesty during the rest of the solemnity." The 100
shillings would become an everlasting treasure belonging to those who serve
Abbey Westminster.
We will
speak once more tomorrow of this sword, but for today, let us remember through
the hours before us that “the Kingdom of God must be fought for aggressively and
obtained through perseverance (Matt. 11:12, Francis Frangipane, This Day We
Fight.) These things we know to be
true, although our passive spirits may not yet have born the Sword of our State
to the altar of God. It is here in Cor
Unum that we join the battle; here in monastic devotion and in monarchical
dedication the disciplines of love begin to see others set free to wear the
garments of glorious righteousness.
We
wear the robes bequeathed and the required raiment of those whose dwell within
the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we do bear His Sword.
The Sword Returns to the Altar
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