December 20
O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.
Perhaps hearing the word “key” just makes you wonder if you remember where you put yours last. To understand today’s antiphon, we should think more along the lines of someone being given the keys to the city by the mayor. The image of keys in both the Old Testament and New Testament is a symbol of authority and power. In Revelation 3:7, Jesus is referred to as the "the holy one, the true, who holds the key of David.”
This is an allusion to Isaiah 22:22 and the authority given to the king’s steward. In the Davidic kingdom and other kingdoms of that time, the prime minister’s authority was second only to the king. The office would be handed on by the symbolic act of handing on the keys. We see this alluded to in Matthew 16, when Jesus gives Peter the keys to the heaven. While “all power in heaven and earth” has been given to Jesus, he shares it with the Church (see Mt 16:19; 28:19).
The image of binding and loosing refers to the authority to rule in Jesus’ “absence” from earth, with a particular connection to the forgiveness of sins. The same word translated in Matthew as “loose” is translated “freed” in Revelation 1:5: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…”
When today’s prayer speaks of the prison walls, dwelling in darkness, and being led into freedom, it is speaking of a far greater darkness than physical captivity and a much greater freedom than a physical rescue. Jesus Christ has the key - the authority - to free us from sin.
As Isaiah the prophet proclaimed,
“He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
release to the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1)
This is a proclamation of a Jubilee (see Lev 25:10–11). The Jewish celebration of a Jubilee year meant rest and celebration, the return of property back to its original owners, and the forgiveness of all debt. Isaiah is attributing these joyful, redemptive actions to the future Messiah.
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus announces to his hometown that he is fulfilling this passage from Isaiah. He is not proclaiming the Jubilee year celebrations of Leviticus, but a definitive Jubilee. He has come to give release from a much greater debt: the debt of sin. He has come to give mercy to those who deserve harsh justice.
“He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” (Lk 4:18–19)
While Jesus will cure the blind and deliver people from sickness or paralysis, these are just signs of the greater blindness he has come to cure - spiritual blindness - and the greater paralysis he has come to heal - the bondage of sin.
The reminder of today’s antiphon is that the worst captivity is our enslavement to sin, and true freedom is found in turning away from our evil ways and following Christ.
The Key of David is not about an authority found in an earthly kingdom, but is about the power to forgive sins. We deserve punishment for our sins, but he has come to forgive and free us. He extends mercy that we do not deserve and can never earn.
Lord, help me to remember that no earthly suffering, no physical bondage, can compare to the bondage and slavery of sin and hell. You came to save me from the eternal pains of hell, but I need to amend my life and follow you if I desire true freedom. Give me the strength every day to begin again. Help me to love you, to trust you, and to ask for your mercy when I fail.
"For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery… For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:1, 13-14)