“We are in a time when we need more unity. Communality and respect for others runs through all youth work - and the Commonwealth seems to have that at its heart.”
Robin Lockhart, Commonwealth Youth Worker of the Year 2016
Over the past few days we have been feted with a myriad of Union Jacks to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee but, as the celebrations have progressed, it has become increasingly clear that her greatest achievement and legacy is not in Britain. Rather, it has been to set a new direction for global convergence, and that reality has been achieved by her continuous encouragement of, and support for, the Commonwealth: perhaps our buntings should therefore have featured the Commonwealth flag rather more than the Union Jack.
In a sense. the Commonwealth is the weakest of all international gatherings of nations: but in fact it is the most enduring of all because it demonstrates how true global convergence must be driven by a deep respect for others. Meanwhile the scale of its reach is truly impressive, as we commented on 23 April 2018.
So in this commentary we recognise how this extraordinary ability to reconcile and accept diversity of politics and faith in this huge and growing family of nations started with Elizabeth seventy years ago. Democracy works well within nations, but her generosity of spirit proves how an appointed leader can bring about real reconciliation between nations.
I recall a speech in the General Synod some years ago, when faith of all different hues was described as on a disc where the centre represented God. The speaker explained how the closer we come to God, the closer we also draw to one another.
The longest-living of Jesus’s disciples, John, recognised the true nature of God when he wrote ‘God is love’. He was speaking of άγάπε in Greek, or unconditional, selfless love: love that flows throughout creation, defining the natural laws of gravity, light and time.
English is a language so rich and colourful, the language of Shakespeare and Tennyson, but it displays a rare poverty when considering the word ‘love’. We throw this word about with such abandon that nobody can be really sure of what we mean by it: so it helps to fall back on three Greek words to draw a distinction. These are άγάπε (agap-ay), φίλίος (fee-lios) and έρος (eer-os).
άγάπε is the love which St. John speaks of when he writes ‘God is Love’. In human terms it is best understood in the love that a mother has for her child: always giving, never asking, unconditional love. It is so deep that we experience it more as an instinct; it may have an emotional expression but, in human terms, it is not a matter of discretion — our capacity to love in this way is drawn directly from God.
To draw a distinction between it and φίλίος and έρος (fraternal and erotic love), it helps to find other ways to describe it in a human context: phrases such as ‘respect for others’(no matter what their situation or beliefs) and ‘generosity of spirit’ come to mind. I would include ‘share’ among these definitions.
The young Princess Elizabeth understood this very deeply and has lived in this understanding throughout her life. The most direct witness to that understanding is in her nurture for the Commonwealth, where it is her direct involvement rather than any national Government (including the British) which has shaped the way it works. At the beginning of the modern Commonwealth in 1949, national leaders agreed that they were ‘free and equal members of the Commonwealth of nations, freely co-operating in the pursuit of peace, liberty and progress’.
No ‘British’, no Union Jacks, no ‘first among equals’ — just a comprehensive respect for each other’s differences, customs and faith.
Unlike the United Kingdom, where the monarch’s influence is tightly constrained while the symbolism of her/his authority remains much in evidence, Elizabeth’s influence in the Commonwealth has been one of living out that deep respect for others. Last week one of the BBC interviewees described it as ‘soft power’, but in truth there is no power: she just really understands what Jesus meant by washing the feet of his disciples.
In a world which struggles to find international co-operation, whether in the United Nations, the European Union or elsewhere, the Commonwealth is indeed Elizabeth’s real legacy for peace on earth.
There is, of course, no reason why the British monarch should remain head of the Commonwealth: the organisation could learn from the last seventy years’ experience about how vital it is that these principles of respecting each other’s diversity are maintained, without adopting an individual at its head. However, hopefully Elizabeth’s descendants will now understand how servant leadership is the key, and stay involved in the same way.
And what of diversity in faith? She has also showed extraordinary leadership here, recognising that the Anglican church (of which she is the ‘supreme governor’) must open its welcome to people of all faiths and none. For someone whose own Christian faith is so central and strong, this can't have been an easy thing to embrace, but she has understood how tribal loyalties must take second place to the teaching of Christ to love our neighbour as ourselves — whoever they are, and however different.
The British people have yet to learn what this lesson of true partnership in the Commonwealth of nations and faith really means. We are too quick to recall our sense of history and importance, too quick to reach for our Union Jacks and our ‘Rule Britannia’. We have a lot to learn from our Queen.
Perhaps we should start by paying much more attention to the Commonwealth which she has fostered so brilliantly over the past seventy years, and which will be her true global legacy in the long term.
Gavin Oldham OBE
Share Radio