21st Sunday 2020
Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20
I suppose that the day may come when keys are obsolete, when a refined version of the plastic card with which you now struggle to open a hotel (or, perhaps more probably, a Travelodge) door will replace them entirely. Even today, keys may perform a ceremonial, rather than a practical, purpose.
When the Duke of Lancaster, better known as Queen Elizabeth II, visits her castle in the city, she is presented with a huge (I think, silver) key, with which she doesn’t open the door. The same key is proffered to the Constable of the castle when he or she takes office. I doubt if it has ever been used for the purpose for which it is ostensibly intended. The Queen is the owner of the castle, the Constable is its steward: for both, the key symbolises their role.
The symbolic nature of keys has long been recognised. Thus, in the time of the Prophet Isaiah, the new “master of the palace”, the major domo as we might call him, or even the constable of the castle, is invested with the robe and sash of office, and also presented with a key, which is placed on his shoulder, just as a new knight of the realm is tapped on his shoulder with a sword today.
Furthermore, this is the Key of the House of David, a title which gives even greater authority as it allows the new steward a role in the guidance of the ruler of the land. Hence, “Key of David” is one of the titles applied to Jesus, signifying His supreme authority over the House of Judah, but ultimately over the world.
Thus, when that same Jesus gives to Simon Bar-jonah not only the new name of Peter, but also the metaphorical “keys of the Kingdom”, those present would have recognised the symbolism. Peter is given authority as Jesus’ representative to be “master of the palace”, steward or doorkeeper of the Kingdom of Heaven.
That this authority is to be exercised on earth, with effects in heaven, has at times over the centuries led to an exaggeration of the pope’s role. Although Jesus states that the keys are of “the Kingdom of Heaven” and their number is not specified, there have been times in the Church’s history when the symbol of the cross keys has been taken literally as meaning that there are two keys, one conferring spiritual and the other temporal authority.
This has led to many popes acting as earthly monarchs, and culminated in the establishment of the Papal States. When these were lost in the struggle for the unification of Italy, Pope Pius IX effectively went into a sulk, living thereafter as “the prisoner of the Vatican”. It was not until almost a century later that Pope St. John XXIII ventured into the rest of Italy, making a pilgrimage to Loreto, a process taken much further by his successor Pope St. Paul VI, who travelled not only beyond Rome, but also beyond Europe, establishing a precedent for papal journeys which are now seen as an integral part of the Pontiff’s role.
Peter’s successors now take for granted that their power is spiritual. By exercising that power wisely and humbly, they do influence worldly affairs. “How many divisions has the Pope?” Stalin is alleged to have asked scornfully. The system which he enforced is now in ruins, whilst the Church continues. Papal documents such as John XXIII’s “Pacem in Terris”, Paul VI’s “Populorum Progressio” , and Francis’s “Laudato Si” have weighed heavily with governments, whilst St. John Paul II’s role in the fall of communism cannot be overstated.
There will always be dissenters. In Paul VI’s time, Archbishop Lefebvre led his followers into schism: at present, it seems not impossible that Cardinal Burke will do the same. Horror stories are emerging from the USA, rumours of seminaries declaring themselves “Francis-free zones”, and of parish priests preaching in support of the dubiously sane Archbishop Vigano. Yet if the gates of Hell cannot hold out against the Church, founded on the rock of Peter’s confession of faith, we can be sure that a loud but small minority of American fanatics and their poisonous publications will not do so.
