Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 27, 2023
Today’s Readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082723.cfm
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our readings revolve around the symbol of keys and the authority attached to them.
Chapter 22 of Isaiah tells the story of Eliakim whose name means “one whom God establishes”. Eliakim takes over as King Hezekiah’s prime minister. Shebna, his predecessor, has kind of wimped out as a fitting leader. Expecting an invasion by the Assyrian armies, Shebna has abandoned hope and instead built himself a nice tomb just in case. So, according to Isaiah, God is unhappy with Shebna and gives the authority and keys to Eliakim:
Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:
Isaiah 22:19-22
“I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe,
and gird him with your sash,
and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
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.
The bestowal of “keys” is the key concept here (not to make a pun.) Keys, both in the passage from Isaiah and from Matthew, symbolize the commissioning of Eliakim and Peter as immediate subordinates to the “king”. They are to act in the king’s place as necessary and appropriate. They have “the keys to the kingdom”.
Our second reading leads us to understand that the symbolic keys given to Peter unlock mysteries far exceeding those described in Isaiah. The entire exchequer of the Faith is placed in Peter’s hands, a treasury for which Christ makes Peter and his successors forever responsible.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
Romans 11:33-36
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
While the Catholic Church interprets these passages as evidence for the primacy of Peter and the Popes, these scriptures also call all Christ’s disciples to plumb the depths of God’s infinite wisdom as it speaks within their own lives. In the community of learning and living we call “Church”, each of us has a role in illuminating the Gospel for our world.
Our daily prayer with the scriptures and our pursuit of reliable sources of sacred learning will deepen our ability to live the Gospel in our time. Peter did his job in his time. Now it’s our turn and Pope Francis’s turn. Let’s pray for him in a special way today.
Prayer for Pope Francis:
The ancient prayer for the Pope, sung regularly in the Vatican in Latin and found in prayer books and hymnals everywhere, is paraphrased from Psalm 41:3:
May the Lord preserve him, give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over to the power of his enemies.
O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful,
look down in your mercy upon your servant, Francis,
whom you have appointed to preside over your Church,
and grant, we beseech you, that both by word and example,
he may edify all those under his charge so that,
with the flock entrusted to him,
he may arrive at length unto life everlasting.
Music: Who Has Known – John Foley, SJ
Oh, the depth of the riches of God
And the breadth of the wisdom and knowledge of God
For who has known the mind of God
To Him be glory forever
A virgin will carry a child and give birth
And His name shall be called Emmanuel
For who has known the mind of God
To Him be glory forever
The people in darkness have seen a great light
For a child has been born, His dominion is wide
For who has known the mind of God
To Him be glory forever
Lavish Mercy 