That won't mean a lot to most of you. For my American readers, it isn't a reference to the State which has Boston as it's capital, but to that loose affiliation of nations that (generally) experienced the "benevolent" experience of British Imperial rule... As such the Queen of the United Kingdom is the head of the Commonwealth, although this is slightly ironic given that it is actually a fairly literal translation of the Latin term "res publica," from which we get the term republic, and its first application in Britain was to the political institution which owed its existence to the enforced reduction in height of one of the Queen's ancestors... the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard.
To most people, however it is simply the banner under which a second-rate Olympic Games is organised half way between Olympiads. They won't even recognise the flag at the top of this post is the flag of the Commonwealth. But there IS something worth celebrating in the concept of Commonwealth... not, some sort of jingoistic pseudo-empire, but a genuine cross-fertilization of cultures that our imperial heritage has facilitated. The ironic thing is that there are many who would want to celebrate the "virtues" of the British Empire, who wouldn't thank you for such cross-fertilization (reading the Daily Mail while having their micro-waved chicken tikka)...
But then, it was the structures of the Roman Empire, it's common language, good roads, and the army enforced "peace" that facilitated the growth of the Kingdom God heralded by the one that imperial power nailed to a cross in the imperial backwater of Judea... God can use all sorts of unpleasant political structures for his ends...
And today I wanted to mark this with a prayer from the biggest nation in the Commonwealth... India. It is taken from an anthology entitled "From Shore to Shore" published by SPCK/USPG, and is a commitment, not to any earthly political institution but to the servant King and service in his Kingdom of God as we seek the well-being of all through it.
Actually this should have been posted yesterday, but I wasn't on the computer yesterday, and didn't notice that it hadn't posted as planned... But although Commonwealth Day is past, the prayer is still worth praying, with it's emphasis on the journey to Jerusalem.
Servant-Christ, help us to follow you in untiring ministry to town and village, to heal and restore the broken body of humanity, to cast out the demonic forces of greed, resentment, communal hatred and self-destructive fears;
Servant-Christ, help us all to follow you.
Help us to follow you on the road to Jerusalem, to set our faces firmly against friendly suggestions to live a safe, expedient life; to embrace boldly the way of self-offering, the way of life given for others’ gain;
Servant-Christ, help us all to follow you.
Help us to follow you into the temple of your chosen people to share your meal of bread and cup, to accept our common place in your one body broken to create a new humanity.
Servant-Christ, help us all to follow you.
Help us to follow you into the garden, to watch with you, ever vigilant for signs of the dawning of your day, to struggle unsparingly, to understand and to be obedient to your perfect will.
Servant-Christ, help us all to follow you.
Help us to follow you unto the cross, to recognize the true way of life in your death, to see our hope in your self-spending love to die to all within us not born of your love.
Servant-Christ, help us all to follow you.
Help us to follow you out of the dark tomb; to share daily in your resurrection life, to be renewed daily in your image of love, to serve daily as your new body in ministering to the world.
Servant-Christ, help us all to follow you.
Amen
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