The Keys to the Kingdom

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Isaiah 22:19-23

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:

"I will thrust you from your office

and pull you down from your station.

On that day I will summon my servant

Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;

I will clothe him with your robe,

and gird him with your sash,

and give over to him your authority.

He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

and to the house of Judah.

I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder;

when he opens, no one shall shut,

when he shuts, no one shall open.

I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,

to be a place of honor for his family."

In the Kingdom of God during Old Testament times, the second highest office was that of the master of the palace, sometimes called the prime minister or royal steward. The man in this role personally represented the Davidic King, like a US Ambassador today who personally represents the President of the United States. As a sign of his authority, the master of the palace was given the key to the palace, the key to the Kingdom. In the absence of the king, this man was in charge. 

During Isaiah’s prophetic career, the master of the place for King Hezekiah was named Shebna, a man who proved to be arrogant and quite possibly treasonous. As a result, the Lord sends a message to him through Isaiah in what is our first reading. Shebna will be removed from his position of authority, and his office will be given to Eliakim, whom Isaiah describes as the Lord’s servant. The office was to outlive the officeholder. When Shebna was removed, someone else had to fill the vacancy. As a sign of the authority being passed to Eliakim, he would be dressed in Shebna’s robe and sash (symbols of priestly authority in Exodus and Leviticus) and he would be given the all-important key to the kingdom. As the master of the palace, Eliakim was to be a reference point for the unity of the kingdom, a “peg in a sure spot” as Isaiah says. 

When Jesus symbolically gave Peter the keys to the kingdom in this week’s Gospel, the clear meaning was not lost on a single Apostle present there, all of whom were longing for a restoration of the Kingdom (see Acts 1:6), presumably with its offices as well. Jesus was appointing Peter as the new Master of the Palace, a priestly office that would outlive him and one that came with the authority to personally represent Jesus and serve as a reference point for the unity of all of Jesus’ followers throughout time. Peter in particular understood that the offices that Jesus gave to the Apostles had to be passed on, even Judas’ office (see Acts 1:15-26). Peter’s own office was passed on to Linus, then to Cletus, then to a succession of 263 others before it was passed on to Pope Leo XIV in 2025.

Why did Jesus do this? Why would he entrust his personal authority to fallen men, to a hierarchically organized Church? As Catholic speaker Chris Stefanick puts it, Jesus knew that the only alternative to organized religion was disorganized religion. Regardless of your opinion of the Pope, Jesus gave us this office as a gift and an organizing principle for his Church united under his prime minister. This week, in a sense the Spirit speaks to us of organization. Where in your life do you need more organization? And where in your spiritual life do you need to get more on board with the Church that Jesus invested with his own authority, even with his own personal representative?