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 back in the 8th century 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 get
access to the King, and the Gospel reading presents Peter as receiving the keys
of the Kingdom of God. Like Eliakim, he would determine who has access to the
King. Peter is usually pictured as having carrying large keys, representing the
authority given to him by the Lord[1].
In the third
chapter of the Book of Revelation, we read about the faithful people of the
ancient city of Philadelphia[2]. Because
these people were devoted to Christ, they are told that the One who holds the
keys of David has left the door open for them to pass through and enter into
God’s Kingdom. 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? The answer is easy: since
these Keys were entrusted to Peter, and since Peter was the head of the Church
in Rome, Peter’s 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. They will be held by all who will come after him.
Pope Francis has
captured the heart of the world, Catholic and Non-Catholic. His determination
to allow the Church to be “poor and messy,” as he would say, has resulted in
millions applauding his reaching out to the marginalized of our society. His firm and decisive actions to remove those
from ministry whose lives do not reflect the following of Christ has been a
refreshing change. Millions flocked the streets of Rio last year to get a
glimpse of this dynamic pope. But who is Pope Francis? He is Jorge Mario
Bergoglio, an Argentine with a wonderful smile and a huge heart. But people did not line the streets to see
Jorge Mario Bergoglio. No, they come to
see Pope Francis. Why? Why are they so determined to see Pope
Francis? Because he is the Pope. He is the successor of Peter. He is the one
who is entrusted with the keys to the kingdom. He is our father on earth. The
people who line the streets during Papal visits and who fill the Piazza San
Pedro for the Sunday blessings and weekly audiences, all know that it is not
just the man they are honoring; it is
the office that the man holds they deeply respect!
We have a
concrete authority who guides us. He is rock-solid,
to use the pun on the name Peter. 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 dictates of our morals.
We are so firm in our faith, that even if those in authority should give us a
poor example of living the faith, we still maintain our Christianity. When
leaders are so caught up in their humanity that they don't recognize the result
of their actions, we all hurt. Yet, the
Church still flourishes. Why? Because the Church is far more than individuals, it is the Body of Christ! The Borgia
popes and others from the past certainly gave us poor examples of living the
faith, at least by twenty-first century standards, but God still used them to
guide His Church. Perhaps the most notorious of the popes was Julius II. One
would be hard pressed to justify most of his life. Yet, he was the pope that
gave the Church the Angelus[3].
Back in the days
before the last papal conclave, a reported asked one of the cardinals what the
process would be for selecting the new pope. The cardinal replied, “God has
already chosen the successor to Peter. It is up to us to discern whom the Lord
has chosen.”
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 are not concerned with demagoguery. We don’t honor
Jorge Mario Bergoglio. We honor Pope Francis, a man who has been entrusted with
the Keys of the Kingdom. In the recent centuries we have been blessed with popes
who were certainly holy men: Blessed Pius IX, St. Pius X, St. John XXIII and
St. John Paul II all gave us examples of
how to live our Christianity. These men
were intensely spiritual throughout their lives, not just as popes. They were
beatified and canonized for the way they lived their Christianity, not for the
way they exercised their authority. Other popes may not be candidates for
canonization, but they all were holy fathers, entrusted with the keys to the
Kingdom.
We pray today
for our Holy Father, and for the one who hopefully a long time from now will
succeed him, one, whom God has already picked, and for the pope after that and
after that, all of whom are already chosen by God. And we thank God for
literally devising a way to lead us on earth through the ministry of the man we
call pope ■
[1] 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time
(A), August 24, 2014. Readings: Isaiah 22:19-23; Responsorial Psalm 138:1-2,
2-3, 6, 8; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20.
[2] Now Turkey.
[3] Pope Julius II (1443 –1513)
nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope", born
Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1 November 1503 to his death in 1513. His
papacy was marked by an active foreign policy, ambitious building projects, and
patronage for the arts—he commissioned the destruction and rebuilding of St.
Peter's Basilica, plus Michelangelo's decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel.
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