On Saturday past, I had the great blessing and privilege of being a guest of the British Society of Mexico at their annual St. George's Day dinner. St. George is the patron saint of England, and his feast day is actually April 23, which they celebrate on the Saturday closest to the 21st, (which this year also coincides with the queen's birthday.)
So...as you can see from the program, I was also invited to offer the grace for the evening. I've never had to pray for the queen before, so I wasn't exactly sure how to refer to her, what to pray for, whether it was even suitable to offer such a prayer at the dinner. I was assured that it was, indeed, suitable, so in addition to offering thanks to God for the food, I also offered a prayer remembering the life and example of George as well as thanksgiving for the Queen's long life. .
What was new to me was the 'ceremony of the Roast Beef,' which begins with the lights being dimmed, and the chef and his assistants bringing out into the room these enormous torches. At first, it looked to me as if they were sabers that had burning meat on them! I thought charred on the outside, raw on the inside, this beef is NOT going to be very good. Turns out, of course, that it wasn't the beef on the swords, it was just for dramatic effect. I guess it acheived the desired level of drama, because I kept thinking, "I hope these people know where the fire extinguisher is..." I kept that thought to myself.
Anyway, the "ceremony of the Roast Beef" involves a ritual tasting of the beef by the person in charge of the evening. And, of course, the beef was deemed 'excellent' and it was sent away to be sliced while the chef and the taster shared a glass of ale.
To me, the most moving part of the evening were the Toasts: to the Queen, ("long live the Queen!" the people said) to St. George and England ("To England!" they replied to the toast) and finally to Mexico -- the land where some had been born, but where many more had moved-- ("Viva México!" said the people, and I thought how wonderful to love TWO countries, and to toast both, and to wish well to both countries. Truly, I am in a place where I am getting to know 'citizens of the world.'
I include the above in case you should desire to see what else the evening's meal featured. I commented to those whom I was seated with that Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding is my family's choice for Christmas dinner, which they thought was somewhat unusual -- I got the impression that most British have turkey -- or goose -- for Christmas dinner. It was a beautiful evening.
And this morning, I had a beautiful day. I had been invited by the Australian Ambassador to offer the invocation at the ANZAC day observance. ANZAC day is something like American memorial day, but differnt, too. If I understand correctly, it is the only national memorial celebration in the world that is shared by two nations, Australia and New Zealand. It began as a commemoration of a World War I battle at Gallipoli in Turkey in the Ottoman Empire, when the then relatively new commonwealth nations of Australia and New Zealand's Army Corps were slaughtered while attempting to land on a beach on April 25, 1915. Somewhere over 10,000 (or was it 12,000) died in that battle.
Gracious
God, our ruler and guide,
The
destiny of every nation is in your hands.
We
give you thanks this day for the gifts of freedom, peace, and security we are
blessed to enjoy,
Even
as we remember all those who laid down their lives to defend them.
Grant
that we and all the people of Australia and New Zealand
Might
with humility and gratitude remember the cost of
their
courage, their mateship, and their sacrifice.
Make
us all a people so generous of spirit, so eager to promote justice, and so zealous
for peace
That
we may not rest until all the peoples of every land
Share
the benefits of true freedom, and gladly accept its disciplines.
And
finally, we pray, hasten the day when nation shall not lift up sword against
nation,
neither learn war any more.
This
we ask in the name of the Prince of Peace,
And the One who gave his life for
the sake of the world,
Jesus Christ the redeemer.
AMEN
You might recognize in the above prayer snippets from prayers from the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Chuch, as well as portions from the Australian Prayerbook, plus some other material I tried to weave together (seamlessly, I hope).
The most extraodinary part of the ceremony was when the Turkish Ambassador read the words of Kemal Ataturk (considered the founder of modern-day Turkey) which are inscribed on the memorial at Ari Burnu, ANZAC Cove where the terrible loss of life occurred. These are the words that one former enemy addressed to another former enemy:
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost thier lives...
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us, where they lie side by side in this country of ours...
You, the mothers
Who sent their sons from far away countries,
Wipe away your tears.
Your sons arenow lying in our bosom
and are at peace
after having lost their lives in this land they have
become our sons as well."
ANZAC day, then, celebrates the values of courage, endurance, sacrifice, and 'mateship' as it is called by Australians and New Zealanders. But ultimately it also raises up the value of reconciliation between persons and nations, and the unity of all humanity.
I count it one of my life's priviliges to have been able to participate in two special events this week in which were emphasized themes of harmony between nations, the unity of all peoples, and the value and dignity of human beings.
Thanks be to God, the giver of all good.
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