The arrival of the Royal Baby has inspired this article. It cannot be more obvious that we are not all born the same way and we do not die the same way – and I am not speaking in medical terms. When J.F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Diana, Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston died, the whole world felt the shockwave. Now, the world seems to live to the rhythm of Mandela’s hospitalisations. When my grandfather died, well…….. he just died. Nothing special to say or add. Like him, many loved ones die every day in a certain form of anonymity.
The United Kingdom caught the royal Baby fever a few months ago. Without even knowing the gender, people were already selling all sorts of memorabilia everywhere. Since the start of the month, journalists from all over the world have literally been camping in front of Buckingham Palace and St Mary’s Hospital, lest they are guilty of the blunder of the century: missing THIS birth.
When Kensington Palace - Prince William’s residence- announced yesterday morning that Kate had gone into labour and had been admitted at St Mary’s earlier on, men, women and children started contracting with her in the kingdom – in fact, they were not alone as Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and the USA, just to name a few, also had contractions. Finally, at 04:24pm, the deliverance happened. The Royal Baby made his royal entry into the world. 8lbs 6oz of rosy flesh, the heaviest future British king to be born in recent history. Guardsmen played 'Congratulations' to mark his arrival, ahead of the Changing of the Guard. A town crier ascended the steps to the Lindo Wing of the Hospital and heralded the news to the assembled well-wishers and media:
"On this day, the 22nd of July in the year 2013, we welcome, with humble duty, a future king, the firstborn of Their Royal Highness the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the third in line to the throne. And our new prince is the third great-grandchild of Her Majesty the Queen and the grandchild of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. May he be long-lived, happy, and glorious, and one day reign over us. God save the Queen!"
Today, at 2pm, there was a 41-gun royal salute by the Royal Horse Artillery at Green Park, staging 71 horses; and a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London by the City of London's Army Reserve Regiment, The Honourable Artillery Company. The 21 additional guns are for the citizens of London to show their loyalty to the monarch. Finally, in home and international waters, all of Her Majesty's ships are flying the Royal Navy Ensign flag from their mast to mark the birth of the prince.
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, did not hold a son into his hands: his eyes beheld a king to be. I thought of the exceptional fate of this little one who has not chosen to be born, but that GOD has chosen and sent. Some will say that the lot has fallen on him; then, what a lot! What a promising and glorious destiny! All this ‘fuss’ for a child who, given the longevity of the Windsor – bless them -, may not reign before his fifties! In other words, many of those who have witnessed his birth may be dead and buried by then and his contemporaries may have no idea of the ‘royal-baby-mania’ of July 2013.
All this made me catch a glimpse of the spiritual dimension of the event and it also reminded me of our LORD. Before He was born, his parents also knew that He was not going to be like any other child. When they held Him in their hands, they held the Saviour of the world, the Christ, the LORD. Their eyes beheld the King of kings. People equally came from afar to witness the event: shepherds and wise men. It was not just a Town crier who bellowed the news out; angels sort of sang His coming instead: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! (Lk 2:13-14). This is without mentioning the star which specially guided the magi to Him! We are not all born the same way. Some seem to have received it all from Day-1, like Prince Charles, William, this new Royal Baby and Jesus. But, rather than envying them, let us remember that to whom much is given, much is also expected and required. If the guy who was given five talents had buried them all like the one who received one, it would have been the height of laziness and folly. So, instead of envying these ‘privileged’ few ones, we need to realise that even if we did not receive five talents, we may have received two or one and it is up to us to multiply them wisely in such a way that, even if our birth was not as noisy as that of the future king of the United Kingdom, our death will make up for it. Martin Luther King, Mandela, JFK, Whitney Houston, Diana and Michael Jackson were all born in ‘silence’, but they all died in tremendous ‘noise’. Let they who have ears, let them hear.
I wish us all an exceptional destiny. It is never too late to start a revolution.
Have a wonderblessed week in HIS wonderful presence.
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