Accessible Royalty... Accessible God.

I met Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, on Sunday. It was a very brief meeting; he has much to do while he is in Calgary, and this was during a short reception after Matins at Christ Church. His Royal Highness (HRH) had read the first reading during the service, and he unveiled the cornerstone that we'll be putting in when construction finally starts on the renovations and addition we've been planning for ages.

Yesterday's paper had a write-up about Edward and Sophie, the Earl & Countess of Wessex. Edward is the Queen's youngest son, and the couple have only recently chosen to become public and make Royal Visits and begin to "fulfill their responsibilities as members of the royal family".

This columnist got a close-up glimpse of what a difference, and a royal, makes. Last year at this time, I travelled across Saskatchewan and Alberta as the Queen celebrated our two provinces' centennials. Press accreditation was given only after an RCMP screening, every venue was blanketed in undercover security from both the RECMP and Scotland Yard, and the ever-present velvet rope cordoned off the media.

Fast-forward to Sunday: While waiting for the Earl to arrive at Spruce Meadows, there wasn't an official in sight. So I stood by a potted plant at the entrance, within pinching distance of His Royal Highness. Coming in by golf cart, the Earl walked in behind a posse of local dignitaries, one of whom - clearly mistaking me for the hired help or maybe even a trash can - handed me her soiled hanky as she passed by. Even the Earl, who looked my way in mock horror, was not amused.

But for the most part, following the Earl of Wessex around for the day is a pleasant and often amusing experience, thanks to his refreshing take on royal life - not to mention brilliant comic timing, a nod to his earlier theatre experience.

At Christ Church in Elbow Park, after attending service with a standing-room-only crowed of 600, he unveiled a cornerstone to mark the church's upcoming expansion.

"I have to warn you, I am going to make this look as slick as possible," he said to the crowd gathered outside as he pulled off the red cover matador-style. "I must ask you now to sound exstatic, so the rest of the community can understand what they're missing."

"Modern prince charms with humour, wit" - Valerie Fortney
Calgary Herald, Monday, June 5, 2006, page A5

(I'd provide a link to the article itself, but it's subscriber-only access and you shouldn't have to pay.)

She got a couple of things wrong about the church stuff, but it's close enough that I won't nit-pick. I just wanted to draw a comparison.

See, what I was most impressed with about Edward was how relaxed he appeared. He has an amazing ability to put people at ease. He looks like anyone you might meet on the street, and he acts like it, too. He (and Sophie, though I did not have the honour of meeting her; she did not attend services with her husband) is very accessible. They seem to be intent upon being available to the public, rather than maintaining all of the barriers that have existed for so many years.

And I have to draw the comparison to Christ. I just have to.

Just as this royal child is making royalty more accessible to the common man, so too does Christ - the most Royal of all princes - make God more accessible to humanity. In becoming man, God brought us the assurance that He truly does "know what it's like". And because of this, we can come to Him with all of our lives and feel that He hears us and understands.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death —
even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name
that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2.1-11