Unfortunately, I failed to hit RECORD when I began preaching my homily so I only have the text to post this evening. I preached on these readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, especially the first reading (Isaiah) and the gospel (Matthew).
Do you know where your keys are right now? If you know exactly where they are - I’m sure you feel secure in that knowledge. But if you suddenly realize that you don’t know where they are - well, unfortunately then - you might think of nothing else from now until the end of mass!
Keys are important! They open all manner of: things, places, containers, and realities and they can keep those same things closed, locked up, safe and secure.
The keys you and I carry in our pockets and purses are not the keys the Lord handed over to Eliakim: those were the keys to the royal house of David!
And the keys you and I hold are not the keys Jesus promised to Peter: the keys to loose and to bind, to open and to close --- all things in heaven and on earth!
But the keys you and I might worry about the most - the keys to our homes and cars and safety deposit boxes - these are NOT our most important keys.
We don’t hold the “Keys to the Kingdom” that Jesus entrusted to Peter but you and I do possess what I’ll call: the keys to “My Little Corner” of the kingdom of God.
The most valuable keys I hold are kept on a key ring in my heart.
Yes, all my keys are important - including those in my pocket - but the most important keys I own - are kept in my heart (or under the welcome mat just outside the door to my heart).
The keys Jesus gave to Peter - the keys of the kingdom - aren’t kept in the Vatican on some jeweled, gold key ring. And they’re not the keys to some mystical locks on the pearly gates of heaven.
Rather, the keys Jesus gave Peter were Keys of Grace: keys to open and to shut, to lock and unlock, to bind and to free - all with the very power and authority of God!
And Jesus has made copies of those keys - and has given - has entrusted them --- to us!
The keys to “My Little Corner” of the kingdom of God are always within my reach. And the keys to “Your Little Corner” of the kingdom of God are right in your hands, too.
If that’s difficult to imagine or grasp, think of it this way: you and I always have in hand the Keys of Grace that can open or close, lock or unlock, bind or free – THE HUMAN HEART - both our own – and the hearts of others as well.
• I’m thinking of the keys we use to OPEN our hearts -- or to lock them up --- and lock others out.
• Think of the times we’ve been slow to share the keys to our hearts
because there may have been other times when we shared those keys too freely, times when others may have taken advantage of the access we gave them…
• Or… how many of us carry in our hearts the key of forgiveness - but we’re slow to use – we even refuse to turn that key to open a door we’ve closed and slammed shut in the face of someone who has hurt us?
• And how many of us hold the keys to resources we have in abundance, to a bounty we’ve locked up for ourselves and our own,
while others in need - go without the basic necessities of life that we might be able to supply?
• How many of us carry keys that lock some people out of our lives,
out of our neighborhoods and social circles? Some even carry keys to lock others out of our nation.
• How many young people have locked their parents and families, out of their lives and hearts? How many older folks have locked out the young because of their lifestyles and choices?
• And… how many of us hold that precious key - the key that might open someone else’s heart – someone who’s locked up tight - in unhappiness… or loneliness… or disappointment… or silence?
• Or what gifts and talents and strengths do we keep locked up, hiding them, not sharing and using them for others?
• And perhaps there some things - some desires, affections, relationships or habits - which I should lock out of my heart: things that have no place and serve no good purpose in my life…
Only •I• hold the key to my own heart, to “My Little Corner” of the kingdom of God: a key I can use to open my heart – or close my heart;
a key I can use to bind or set others free; a key that I can choose to share freely - or guard jealously.
What do •I• do with the keys entrusted to me? The key to my heart and all its many different rooms.
Of course the Lord has the Master Key. Jesus holds the master key to the hearts of us all - but he doesn’t use it to barge in on us.
In the Book of Revelation, the Lord says: “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and you open the door, I will come in, and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev. 3:20)
Jesus waits patiently at my heart’s door, at your heart’s door. (He doesn’t go
looking for a key under the mat!) He knocks… and he waits… he waits for me to turn the lock - from
the inside - and to open up - and invite him in – and to hand over to him
– the key to “My Little Corner” of the kingdom of God – which was first his
gift to me
So…
• What keys do I hold? • What do they open? • What do they keep locked in? • Whom do they keep locked out? • Over whose hearts and lives do my keys have power to bind and to free, to open and close?
And perhaps the most important question of all: what would be opened in my life, what and whom would be loosed and set free - if I invited the Lord to use his master key and open my heart to him and to my neighbor - and especially those who are in need - of what my heart holds?
In Jesus, God has unlocked and opened for us the kingdom of his love and his mercy.
Here at this altar, the Lord unlocks the banquet hall of heaven and invites us all to take a place at his table where he opens his heart and shares his life - as once he offered it on the Cross - only now in the Bread and Cup of the Eucharist.
May our Holy Communion here with Jesus open our hearts to the gift of God’s love - and unlock our hearts to share that love with one another.
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