A pomp is a lavish display of quintessential beauty and magnificence during an occurrence of pageantry that is usually viewed by many. When we graduated from high school and/or college or university, we probably processed to the grand music of Pomp and Circumstance (the first of five marches by Sir Edward Elgar for the coronation of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom). We felt dignified and worthy of praise as we marched to the recorded work by a full orchestra; we had completed our academic labors and were about to receive our diplomas or degrees.
On Monday, September 19, 2022, the funeral for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II will be viewed throughout the globe through the genius of modern technology. An impressive service of order, prayer, chorales, and radiant colors will signify royalty. The pageantry will be stunning in its size and suggestion of the power that is inherent in such majesty.
However, there will be a delicate factor in the pomp of this occasion. Quite subtly, hearts and minds will be turned towards that which is beyond our humanity. Most of us will be almost unaware that we are open to the divine. In the hymns we will hear praise to God, though few will be focused on the holy. The glory of the lavish funeral rites that celebrate a life that has transitioned will remind us that there is more to life than the wars and rumors of wars, the brutal raping of the environment, the heinous belief that some humans are sub-humans, and the greed for acquisitions beyond what we could need in a lifetime. For the briefest of internals, we will sense God. Pomp and circumstance will in scattered moments place God before us. The glorious ceremony may cause us to weep in joy and in sorrow.
We, whether famous or anonymous, for brief time will be stunned with awe by religious service before us. We will be elevated above the terrors of our daily lives and those around the globe. For a brief space we may be open to visions, dreams, speculations about possibilities for a better life. We may feel elevated above problems and humbled by a magnificence beyond the realm of humanity. For a moment we may glimpse the Creator and all the good that we might do. We may reach upward in mind, spirit, and even body. Ritual may stop our furious haste to nowhere and cause us to sense God.
In pomp and circumstance, we may be caught up in that which we see, hear, smell. But after the magnificence, it will be necessary that we labor to make the good a reality. In the days and months after the funeral, will we submit ourselves to the chaos of our normalcy or work to make existence lavish with life, love, and peace? When the time comes for the coronation of King Charles III, where will our minds and hearts be?
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D. Min., ACC
Senior Associate
Next Step Associates, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President