Funerals and Sea Monsters

 Did you see the funeral?

 

Whose funeral?

 

The funeral of the late most Illustrious and most Exalted Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order upon whom had been conferred the Royal Victorian Chain, Grand Master and Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, One of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal in the Army and Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Husband of Her Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, whom may God preserve and bless with long life, health and honour and all worldly happiness.

 

Ohhh!   That funeral!

 

Millions of people around the world were captivated by the funeral service on April 10 for the late Prince Philip with all of his illustrious titles.  The service was steeped in tradition and was conducted with great British formality and dignity by both the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury who is the Senior Bishop and the principal leader of the church.  Queen Elizabeth, as the Royal Sovereign, is the actual head of the Church of England.  Her official title is the Supreme Governor of the church and as is noted above, she is also the “Defender of the Faith.”  Both of these titles date back to the reign of Henry VIII. 

When Henry VIII denounced Martin Luther as a heretic, a grateful Pope, Leo X, responded by giving him the title of “Defender of the Faith.”  As we all know, Henry VIII lost favor with the Pope when he asked for a divorce.  When the Pope denied his request, the King responded by renouncing the spiritual authority of the Papacy, proclaiming himself in 1534 as the “supreme head on earth” of the Church of England.  And he decided to keep the title, Defender of the Faith.” 

 

His daughter, Queen Mary, later repealed these titles, but his other daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, reinstated them.  The titles remain to this day.  

 

Today’s Queen Elizabeth who just turned 95 is a very devout Christian with a deep faith who takes her role very seriously.  She is a true "Defender of the Faith" and I am sure the service of hope and faith brought her great comfort. 

The music at the funeral was stunning and most of it was selected by The Duke himself.  One selection paid homage to Prince Philip’s heritage in the Russian Orthodox Church.  He was born as the Prince of Denmark and Greece and was a descendent of the Romanovs of Russia.  Therefore, he selected an ancient Kiev chant from the Russian Orthodox liturgy named “The Russian Kontakion of the Departed.”  This moving selection expresses the sorrow of grief, but reminds us of the Christian hope of everlasting life.  “In the face of sadness, we sing Hallelujahs!”

There was a beautiful arrangement of Psalm 104 that was written at the request of Prince Philip.  It is known as the “Creation Psalm” and would be especially meaningful to a man of the sea.  Verses 25 and 26 read:  “Yonder is the sea, great and wide, which teems with things innumerable, living things both small and great.  There go the ships, and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it.”   

The Duke served as an officer in the Royal Navy in the Second World War and was later granted the title:  "Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom."  This was also the reason for the first Scripture lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus (not Ecclesiastes).  Written almost 200 years before the birth of Christ by the Jewish scribe, Ben Sira of Jerusalem, the book that is sometimes called the Wisdom of Sirach was very well known in Jesus’ day and used frequently in synagogue worship.  It was not in the Jewish canon, therefore, not in our Old Testament, but can be found in the Apocrypha.   

There are some beautiful passages in this little-known book and I have used parts of the 44th chapter in funeral services.  The passage that was used Saturday is from chapter 43.  The beautiful passage begins, “Look at the rainbow and praise him who made it.”   

It continues: “Those who sail at sea tell stories of its dangers, which astonish all who hear them.  In it are strange and marvelous creatures, all kinds of living things, and huge sea monsters.” 

So, what is all this business about sea monsters? 

Look closely at the creation account in Genesis 1.  When you get to the fifth day we read:  “So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm .  . .” (Genesis 1: 21) 

 

The Hebrew word that is translated “sea monsters” is tannin.  It is very close to the Babylonian word for sea monster which is tiamot.   The ancient Babylonian creation account, known as the Enuma Elis (from on high) is a story of how Marduk (the good God, symbol of life and order) does battle with Tiamot (the evil God, symbol of death and chaos).  Tiamot takes the form of a sea monster.  Marduk prevails and kills Tiamot, then cuts her dead carcass in half.  Half becomes the earth and the other half becomes the heavens.  What a story!

 

When you consider the fact that the book of Genesis was written during the Babylonian captivity, it makes sense that there is a reference to the sea monsters.  However, in the Biblical account, God creates the sea monsters so he has power and control over them.  This is affirmed in other passages of Scripture like Psalm 104 and Isaiah 27:1 that tells us God will slay the dragon that is in the sea.  

Talk of sea monsters may sound antiquated and imaginary, but when you consider the fact that sea monsters were the symbol of chaos in ancient times, maybe they were more than mere mythology. We have been dealing with a monster known as COVID-19.  But God has control over the sea monsters and he has control over COVID-19.  He has given us a sword to slay the COVID-19 monster.  It is called a vaccine.  

 

I have no doubt that the quick development of the vaccines is a miracle from on high.  Now it is up to us to roll up our sleeves and get a vaccine.  It is the only way we can slay this monster!