Word to the Wise
Sunday, August 24, 2008 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20]I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family. (Isaiah) I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew)
It's amazing how much symbolism and power are connected with such a small object as a key! I recently helped a friend move into his dormitory at Georgetown University. He will be a Resident Assistant and there was much ado about signing for the key to his room. It seems to me that whenever I have received a new job or title, there has always been some ado about receiving a key(s). When I was "guestmaster" for a huge Dominican priory in Dubuque, IA, during my seminary days, I had a "pass key" that meant I might get a knock on my door at unusual hours from a brother who had managed to lock himself out of his room, or a guest who had arrived late or lost their key! When I became pastor at St. Ann's in San Antonio (1994-98), the ceremony of installation involved the key to the Church. There was more than one key. I finally had to set the policy that those who wanted access to various buildings on the parish campus should "check out or sign out" a key at the reception desk of the parish. Otherwise all I'd be doing would be locking and unlocking doors. Occasionally on priests' retreats, I've asked priests to show their keys and tell them to give them to others! The key can be not only the object that unlocks the door to something, it can be the very symbol of the place itself. In my case, I still have a key to the house where I grew up even though I no longer live there but visit once in awhile. Jesus' words to Peter about being given a new role (and a new name) involve the giving of keys! This could be an echo of Isaiah's charge in the first scripture for today to Eliakim in which keys are also the symbol of power. In the case of Peter, it means to exercise a vast responsibility which today is shown in the crossed keys on the Vatican flag! The key is truly a powerful symbol. In the case of Peter and his successors, there is an awesome spiritual responsibility that transcends the vast material responsibility. For some folks, the possession of keys is a form of security. For others it is a matter of perpetually remembering where they have put them! In those cases where power comes with the key, I think we hope the keys will be somewhere in between those two extremes! AMEN
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