Upon the King

Praying for those who shoulder the burden of authority

09/18/2017

1 Timothy 2:1-8 Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

            If you had the opportunity to live your life as a king (or queen) or as a commoner, which would you choose? At first blush, we may be tempted to say I’d rather be a leader than a follower: president rather than populace, priest instead of parishioner, professor in place of pupil. Being king is more desirable than being a commoner, obviously.

             But Shakespeare would disagree with that answer. In his play, Henry V, King Henry weighs these two options and concludes it would be easier to be a commoner because he can sleep better at night. The night before a great battle, the soldiers (the commoners) are snoring peacefully, while the king is awake worrying. He laments: “Upon the King! Let us our lives, our souls / Our debts, our careful wives, / Our children, and our sins lay on the king./ We must bear all. O hard condition.” A little later he adds what the commoner enjoys that kings lack, namely, sleep. He says:  the king cannot “sleep so soundly as a wretched slave, / Who with a body fill’d and a vacant mind / Gets him to rest, cramm’d with distressful bread; / Never sees horrid night, the child of hell, / But like a lackey, from the rise to set / Sweats in the eye of Pheobus (the hot sun) and all night sleep in Elysium (that’s paradise)” (Henry V, IV, 1). In other words, we may think it’s easier to be the boss than the busboy, but the busboy sleeps a lot easier than the boss.

             Both our readings today direct our attention to the burden of being the boss. St. Paul urges Timothy to pray for those who shoulder the burden of leadership. He writes: “First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life.” In other words, we pray for kings to do their job well, so we commoners can sleep better at night, “a quiet and tranquil life.” In the gospel, a centurion asks Jesus to come and heal his slave, but adds, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof…but say the word and let my servant be healed.” Then he goes on to speak about how he understands the burden of authority as he commands his men. Jesus is amazed by his faith. Why? Because the Centurion recognizes Jesus as a king, specifically as someone who knows the burden of being the boss, who stays up at night so that others might sleep soundly. Thanks to the king, the commoner “gets to rest, cramm’d with distressful bread; / Never sees horrid night, the child of hell, / But like a lackey, from the rise to set / Sweats in the eye of Phoebus and all night / Sleeps in Elysium.”

             Today, I’d like us to follow St. Paul’s admonition and pray for those in authority, particularly for three categories of people: first parents, second pastors, and third presidents. First, parents lose sleep staying up waiting for their children to come home from a date or a dance.  They know that nothing good happens after midnight. After their children leave the home parents lose sleep waiting for them to call or come for a visit. Pray for parents to sleep better. Second, pray for pastors, like “yours truly.” I like the old saying that “a holy pastor wakes up a 4 o’clock…twice a day.” But the first time we awake we are worried for our parishioners, the sick, the dying, the confused, the lost sheep. Pastors lie awake, while the sheep sleep. And third, for presidents of countries but also presidents of companies. It’s true they have the corner office and the sizable salary, Air Force One and the secret service, but they also have the weight of worry for the country or the company on their shoulders. Haven’t you noticed how much older a U.S. president looks when he leaves office? Only four years have passed, but to him it feels like forty. Why? It’s because the poor man hasn’t slept.

            St. Paul said: “I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and all in authority, that we might lead a quiet and tranquil life.” The commoner sleeps soundly because all the weight of his worries have been placed “Upon the king!”

   Praised be Jesus Christ!