Sunday’s first reading places in Old Testament messianic context Jesus’ giving of the keys to the kingdom of heaven to Peter. The passage from Isaiah revolves around the office of the king’s chamberlain, his second in command.
Shebna seems to use the office to benefit himself; he has had a fancy tomb hewn for himself. So God sends Isaiah to dismiss Shebna and install Eliakim. In ancient Judah these offices were probably hereditary like kingship.
The passage makes clear that the chamberlain must serve in the king’s stead. The king’s keys represent his authority. The chamberlain can open and shut the palace gates and shares the king’s responsibility to be a father to the people. The chamberlain must be like a secure tent peg that holds up the whole household.
Matthew sees the church as the messiah’s household, continuing the Davidic household. Jesus gives Peter keys to bind and loose on earth, to open and shut, forgive and withhold forgiveness. Interestingly, Jesus gives this same power to the members of his household, the church, in Matthew 18.18.
Ideal chamberlain
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Go to Shebna, who is master of the household and say to him: What right do you have here? Who are your relatives here, that you have cut out a tomb for yourself, cutting a tomb on the height, and carving a habitation for yourself in the rock?
I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post. On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his ancestral house.
Isaiah 22.15-16, 19-23
- What qualities do you consider ideal in those who hold responsibilities for the messiah’s household, the Church?
- Who opens and shuts gates in your parish?