Do you remember the first time mom or dad gave you the keys to the car, after you got your license and could legally drive alone? Remember the excitement, the independence, and the bit of fear as you pulled away, knowing that you were in charge of the vehicle? Having the keys to the car brought exhilarating power and responsibility, even if only for a few miles or hours. Or how about the moment when you closed on a house, especially your first house, and the keys were handed over to you? How awesome it was to unlock the door and realize that now this place was yours. You decide who comes and goes, and it is a place that can express who you are. One of the first things I did when I arrived here on June 16 was to shake Fr. Doyle’s hand as he was leaving and then receive the pastor’s set of keys. Yes, keys confer both power and responsibility, a sense of ownership and commitment that is much larger than their physical properties.
This Sunday we are presented with two figures who are given keys. The first is Eliakim. Eliakim was the secretary to Shebna the Master of King Hezekiah's palace, about 700 years before Christ. According the first reading from Isaiah, Shebna lost favor with the Lord and was replaced by Eliakim. Isaiah goes on to say that God placed the keys of the Kingdom on Eliakim’s shoulder. He would be Master of the Palace and the one through whom others would have to go to gain access to the King.
The Gospel from Matthew presents Peter as receiving the keys to the Kingdom of God. Like Eliakim, he would determine who has access to the King. Peter is usually pictured as having keys, representing the authority given to him by the Lord. In fact, if you look closely at the statue of St. Peter here on the left of the altar, you will see that he is indeed holding a hefty set of keys. So who holds the Keys of the Kingdom now? Jesus Christ is the judge of the Living and the Dead. He is the one who determines who will enter into God’s presence after their death. But who holds the Keys to the Kingdom here on earth? Since these Keys were entrusted to Peter, and since Peter was the head of the Church in Rome, his successor, the Bishop of Rome, holds the keys to the Kingdom. Right now, Pope Francis is that person. But the keys had been held by many before him and they will be held by all the popes who will come after him.
We have a concrete authority who guides us. Because of the Pope and the teaching authority of the Church, we know who we are when we say we are Catholic. We know the fundamental beliefs of our faith and the basic demands of our morals. These do not change based on the country we live in or who is Pope at the time. These parts of our faith remain the same throughout the centuries. We are firm in our faith, even if those in authority should give us a poor example, we still maintain our Christianity. Even though there have been bad leaders in the Catholic Church though out history, the Church still flourishes. Why? Because the Church is far more than individuals, it is the Body of Christ. Because Jesus is guiding our Church through the Holy Spirit, God can even use weak and sinful leaders to guide His Church and the fundamental teachings never change.
One of the problems with keys is that everyone wants a set. We see that here in the parish with the gym, church, and rectory. But if everyone has keys, there is no accountability and it becomes very difficult to maintain the integrity of what those keys protect. In his wisdom, Christ entrusted the keys to the kingdom to one person, the pope, to ensure that the path to heaven would stay open and accessible throughout all times and circumstances. The challenge for us is humbling ourselves to follow the Vicar of Christ as he leads us with those keys. We may not always understand why our Catholic Church teaches what she does, we might even think we could do it better by ourselves, to bind and loose as we see fit. But this will always lead to disaster and division, despite the best of intentions.
Today’s readings remind us why we honor the Vicar of Christ, the Pope. We don’t honor him for the individual he is. We honor Pope Francis, because he has been entrusted with the Keys of the Kingdom. In the recent times we have been blessed with popes who were very holy men. Blessed Pius IX, St. Pius X, St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II each gave us examples of how to live our Christianity. These men were intensely spiritual throughout their lives, not just when they were popes. They were beatified and canonized for the way they lived their Christianity, not just for the way they exercised their authority. Other popes may not be candidates for canonization, but they were holy fathers, entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom.
We pray today and every day for our present Holy Father, and for the ones who will eventually succeed him. We thank God for providing the papacy as a way to lead and guide us on our journey through the many challenges and confusion that we face during this life. Let us ask God to make us humble that we will always follow the one he has entrusted with the keys, even when we don’t fully understand or agree.
