Tags
Advent, Christ, gates of the kingdom, Jesus, keys, kingdom of heaven, O Antiphons, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional love
Keys are the “key” to so many things. We unlock the doors to our houses with keys (even if now in the form of a key pad). We start our cars with keys (even if it looks like a button remote from a fancy vehicle). Scientists are always looking for the one thing – the key – that unlocks the mystery they are trying to solve. Some of us know (repeatedly) the frustration of looking for our keys that have somehow not been in their regular place, especially when we’re late for work. Most of us can probably tell stories of our worst experiences with (or without) keys.
Today the “O” Antiphon presents Jesus as the key that unlocks the gates of the kingdom of God. We could think of that as imaging St. Peter standing at “the pearly gates” of heaven to let us in when we pass from this world. I’m thinking, however, of Jesus here on earth saying that “the kingdom of heaven is within you.” So, taking that statement to heart, we must consider that this is not something that can be done for us but rather that is done by us. How do we open to the kingdom of God within us? It seems we must give ourselves over to the action of Christ’s Spirit in us in conscious awareness, so that in that merger we come to know the openness of unconditional love. In that knowing we are free and able to access the light of God that is our truest self.
O Key of David, ruler of life, you unlocked the door to God’s kingdom. Come, pry loose the lynch pins of our hearts and open us to your advent!
I read something from Macrina Wiederkehr’s book, sevensacredpauses, this morning that made me smile, especially given what I wrote yesterday. I think it’s worth sharing.
Today’s first reading from the Book of Genesis tells the story of world-wide famine and the fact that Joseph, the boy whose brothers had sold him into slavery, used the power he had gained as governor of Egypt to feed starving people everywhere. It’s when his brothers appear before him that Joseph has his most important moment. It’s one of the great mercy stories of the Hebrew Scriptures and has many lessons to teach. (GEN 41-42)
Chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel is so full of teaching that it provides a lifetime of material for reflection. The Beatitudes alone are enough! In today’s lectionary selection, however, there is a very important section on how we ought to treat those persons closest to us. (Jesus calls them our brothers, but we know he meant our sisters too.) It’s about the fact that we must be in right relationship with our neighbors before we approach God in our worship services. The very familiar text (vs. 20-26) tells us that if there is something separating us from another person we need to leave our gift at the altar to go and be reconciled. It’s that important. The interesting thing about this passage for me, however, is a simple twist in the way the recognition of our duty is expressed by Jesus. He doesn’t say, “If you recall that you have anything against your brother, go first and reconcile…” Instead, Jesus makes the job of reconciliation ours even though it is “if your brother has anything against you…” 
I was in a conversation last evening about the difficulty of being honest if one is dependent on others for self-esteem. There are other reasons why people lie, of course – perhaps especially in business these days – but even in our everyday lives the challenge is to avoid linking our worth to success or failure in the eyes of others or even ourselves. As I write this, my thoughts come round to the conclusion that our image of God needs to be taken into consideration here. If the God I believe in is the God of unconditional love, I ought to be able to be honest about both my successes and failures before God and, in that assurance, not be so timid about speaking the truth in all situations.
