The passage from the prophet Isaiah begins with the firing of Shebna as Master of the Palace of the King of Israel.\u00a0 \u201cI will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scripture describes that the King of Israel had a \u201cMaster of the Palace,\u201d what historians have described as a prime minister of sorts, to whom all high governmental officials reported.\u00a0 The Master of the Palace held the \u201ckeys\u201d which were a symbol of authority over the entire royal palace.\u00a0 This key symbolized his authority to open and close doors to whomever he wished.<\/p>\n
Shebna was fired because as Master of the Palace, he decided to build a grand tomb for himself overlooking the city of Jerusalem.\u00a0 He used the power given to him for personal reasons, rather than for the service of the King and Kingdom of Israel.<\/p>\n
As Shebna leaves, Eliakin is named Master of the Palace.\u00a0 Isaiah writes of Eliakin, \u201cHe shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem\u2026 I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim\u2019s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.\u00a0 I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eliakin is given the keys to the kingdom, and his position is fixed like a peg \u2013 he is going nowhere.<\/p>\n
Why is this structure in the Kingdom of Israel important for us to understand?\u00a0 The importance of the Master of the Palace?\u00a0 The authority given to him by the King?\u00a0 His power symbolized by the keys?\u00a0 And that his power strongly fixed like a peg?<\/p>\n
Listen carefully again to the words of Jesus to Peter in the Gospel of Matthew, \u201cyou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.\u00a0 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.\u00a0 Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
These words of Jesus to Peter do not happen in a void \u2013 they have a historical context.\u00a0 Jesus, the descendent of King David who has come into the world to restore the Kingdom of Israel, appoints a Master of the Palace.\u00a0 This is what the apostles and early Christians would have understood by Jesus speaking of the key, and opening and closing.<\/p>\n
Peter is given the keys of the kingdom, and told that he has the authority to open and close the doors of the kingdom.\u00a0 His name is changed from Simon to Peter, which means rock in Greek, to assure us that his position is sturdy and long lasting, like a peg in a sure spot.<\/p>\n
Peter, the disciple whose faith wobbled when Jesus asked him to step out of the boat into the water, Peter, the disciple who denied Jesus three times, Peter, the disciple who oftentimes spoke out of turn, is chosen to be the first among the apostles.<\/p>\n
The apostles went throughout the world preaching and teaching what they had learned, and as the apostles died, they appointed successors who would continue to lead the church.\u00a0 Saint Peter eventually made it to Rome, where he was martyred by the Vatican Hill, and his successors remained in Rome.\u00a0 The Pope today, as Bishop of Rome, is the direct successor of Saint Peter, and for this reason we still regard him as the keeper of the keys \u2013 the Master of the Palace for God\u2019s Kingdom on earth \u2013 the Church.<\/p>\n
The authority given to Peter was to be a custodian of the teachings of the Church and to shepherd God\u2019s flock.\u00a0 To be a visible leader that would remind all the faithful that we are truly one in Christ \u2013 and to forge bonds of unity among all those who believe.\u00a0 To be a reconciler, a mediator, a gatherer of those who are scattered.<\/p>\n
We have seen throughout history, that some successors of Saint Peter have been like Shebna from the first reading; they abused the power they received for personal benefit, but at the same time, other successors of Peter have been exemplary men, even saints.<\/p>\n