The news has announced that Harry and Meghan have received their invitation to the coronation of King Charles III. By the time you read this the answer that the tabloids are seeking will be known. Will they go and see the king?
I wonder what your response would be if you received the same invite. Would you go?
If you went, would it be out of curiosity, or to be part of the spectacle, to witness history or to acknowledge that Charles is King?
I guess the same sort of motives drove the people to throng the streets of Jerusalem as Jesus entered the city riding on the back of a colt on what we now refer to as Palm Sunday. Unlike the upcoming coronation which I am sure will be an ordered and dignified affair, the scene in Jerusalem would have been anything but ordered. It was an impromptu event with crowds thronging to see this man. Wondering what change he would bring, was this the King? It would have been a noisy affair as people shouted, waved palm branches, and threw them onto the road in front of Jesus as he passed by. Amongst the crowd would have been an array of people; some there to honour the King, others just to be part of the spectacle, to live in that moment of history. Others would have just been caught up in it wondering what all the fuss is about and what the relevance of this King would be.
We remember this day on Palm Sunday (2nd April 2023), and it begins the days leading up to Good Friday and ultimately Easter Sunday. A time when the relevance of this King that entered the city on a lowly donkey becomes clear as Christians across the globe consider what this King means to them and retell the stories of how a man some claimed to be king as he entered Jerusalem was arrested, tortured, crucified, and resurrected to become King of Kings.
So, do you want to meet the king?
If so, you can apply for one of the 2000 invites to the coronation, but only if, according to the cabinet office, you are directly related to someone who has performed a role at a previous coronation, I suspect not many of us will qualify for an invite.
However, if you want to meet ‘the King’, Jesus has an open invite for you. There may not be a fancy ceremony but at least you are invited and are welcome without filling in an online form to apply for a ticket.
