XXI Sunday in Ordinary Time
This is the second time this gospel reading has appeared in the course of a few months. And, we may be getting it again, toward the end of October. Why is it occurring with such frequency? Well, it’s a quirk of the calendar, and the way we pick readings for different feasts. This may not happen again for a good long while, so let’s enjoy it while we have it, and learn from it. If nothing else, it illustrates how a “different reading” of texts can open different windows onto spiritual matters.
When we saw this reading last, the focus was on the location of Caesarea Philippi as a religious center, where all the history of humanity’s quest for God could be seen in the architecture as Jesus walked his disciples down mainstreet. Do you remember that one? There were the ancient Canaanite high places, the idolatrous temple of the Northern Kingdom set up by Jeroboam when he broke away from the rule of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, there was a temple to the Greek god Pan, and the temple to Caesar, as a god. And, it’s in that context that Christ asked the disciples, “Who/what do you think God is about? And who do you think I am?” And, that question came alive as we walked silently along with them, and WE had to answer: what is God and His Christ about for US? Is religion just about “getting something”–wealth, or power, or “the right answers?” OR, is it an invitation to see God differently? Can we see God as the Father Who made us, infinitely in love with us, and drawing us to Himself? One view of religion is all about what “I” get, the other is about “What/Who” I get. One is about feeding my ego, the other is about finding my authenticity in being created in the image and likeness of perfect love. How differently those two ideas play out in living, don’t you see!
And, if this reading comes up in October, about the time Protestants celebrate what they call “Reformation Sunday,” we will be looking not at the context, or the question to the disciples, but the statement of Jesus to Peter, “I give to you the keys of the Kingdom and whatever you bind is bound and whatever you loose is loosed.” And, then, the emphasis will be on the role of Peter and order in the Church. And we’ll be looking at the special role given to authority, and how it is used for our growth in spiritual health.
But, today, as the reading arises and it’s not near Reformation Sunday, when we talk about authority in the church, and the role of leadership, especially the “throne of Peter,” in Rome, and it’s not the feast of the building of our first church, which I think was the reason it appeared a few weeks ago, when concentrated on the nature of healthy religion. This time it comes in the midst of a series of weekend Bible readings dealing with the topic of discipleship. And so, we are to look at what it says about US...the disciples.
And what do today’s readings say to discipleship? The reading from Isaiah recalls royal processions through the streets of Jerusalem, where the “Master of the palace,” (in Isaiah’s time, a man by the name of Shebna) carried ceremonial keys–huge things that could be seen a block away, as a symbol of his office. He held the keys to all the rooms of the royal palace and the temple, its chapel. He alone had ALL the keys! To ALL the closets, and nooks and crannies, and secret passageways. He could get anywhere he needed to go. If you wanted something quickly, or access to someone, immediately, you came to him. He could move you swiftly through the maze of passageways and secret rooms to the place you needed to be.
Well, today’s readings let us know that we, the Church, are entrusted with those keys. We have the “keys” to the mysteries of the deep, inscrutable and unsearchable God, and access to ALL the passageways of Grace, all the avenues to God, and to help from above. These are ours. They are given in love to each of us.
When it comes to authority, perhaps we don’t all have the same kind–that’s a topic for a different Sunday, but today, the focus is not on that. It’s on discipleship. And we, the Disciples of the Prince of Peace, have the means to move through the eternal mysteries, we have total access to the power of the Master of the Universe. We can slip into his throneroom, and stand before him at any time, anywhere. We have the keys to His heart, which we can open and beg His blessing for our earth.
This is a truth about the Disciple that is so profound that it needs it’s own Sunday, just to meditate on this Wonder. You, a piece of cosmic dust on a third rate planet in a second rate galaxy at the edge of the universe, hold the keys to the very Heart of God. Use them well. Beg His blessings NOT selfishly, just for yourself, but magnanimously, seeking the good of all the earth. And the longer you pray for that, miracle of miracles, the more your soul will conform itself to your prayer, and your own heart will opened wider and your soul made greater, and through you the Divine Blessing will touch countless others.
The keys are ours. We can lock ourselves out, or open the Treasury of Mercy to all. It’s in our hands as disciples. And the hardest task of discipleship is learning to pray for the enemy, the one we fear and dread. And yet, it is this repeated action that opens us and enlarges our heart and soul so that through us the world can be lifted a little higher and a bit of light may come into the darkness.
So, on this weekend that asks us to look at ourselves, let us pray for larger hearts and greater souls, and most of all, for the courage to use the keys given us to open the Treasury of God’s mercy to all. And may God bless you all. +
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