In the time of King David, to be the keeper of the king’s keys was to control access to the priest-king David himself. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord informs Shebna, master of the palace, that he will be thrust from office, and the key of the House of David will be placed on Eliakim’s shoulder, so that what Eliakim opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open. Clearly, the keeper of the keys held great power, yet it was power that came from God, not from man. Psalm 138 recognizes that any power human beings have always derives from God’s action. With humility, the psalmist acknowledges that he is subservient to the Lord: Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands.
When, in Matthew’s Gospel, Peter recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus will similarly bestow upon Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, a statement from which the Church derives its understanding of papal primacy. Prior to Jesus’ coming, the scribes and the Pharisees were supposed to help people have access to God, but their authority would be taken from them when they refuse to recognize Jesus as the Christ. Peter is thus given the power to open the doors to the kingdom, just as the Church is to open the kingdom of heaven to all – giving people access to God is her primary mission – so that one day they might know perfect union with God.
We cannot know what perfect union will look like, for inscrutable are God’s judgments and unsearchable his ways, as Paul tells the Romans. But thanks to the revelation of Jesus Christ, we have some sense of the depth of God’s love for us and of God’s profound presence in our lives. We are constantly seeking God; we cannot anticipate how God will next act in our lives, for who has known the mind of the Lord? However, we do find him in Eucharist, where we practice being one with him and with one another, opening ourselves to the kingdom of heaven as we enter into his love.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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