GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 27TH AUGUST 2017
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING: Isaiah 22:19-23
PSALM: Psalm 138:1-3, 6,8
SECOND READING: Romans 11:33-36
GOSPEL: Matthew 16:13-20
THEME: THE KEYS
When the owner of a house entrusts you with the keys of his building, he gives you access to the house.
There is an apparent interruption of the flow of the text of Isaiah 22 with an account of a government official during the reign of King Hezekiah by name Shebna. This public figure had mismanaged the resources of the government and chosen to make himself rich at the expense of the public purse. His life was characterised by ostentatious living grounded on corrupt deals. He went so far as to order an expensive private tomb hewn in a rock, hoping that even after death he would be well remembered. The Lord appeared not to have been amused by that and sent Isaiah to him with the message: “I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand…and I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open” (Isa. 22:19-22).
Within the Jewish community, there was the general understanding that the coming Messiah would wield the ‘keys of the house of David’ – a symbol of authority. So when Peter said to Lord, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat.16:13), it was an affirmation and a statement of faith that Jesus was that awaited messiah who would exercise authority. In response, Jesus told Peter: “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:18-19).
As believers in Christ, we serve the Messiah who wields absolute authority in the Kingdom of God. He speaks of himself as “the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens” (Rev. 3:7). Unlike Shebna, Jesus is faithful and reliable. We can count on him at all times.
In Jesus Christ, the powers of death cannot overcome us. In him, we are more than conquerors! Yes, in Jesus, we have access to every door of blessing. When we follow him, he leads us into rooms full of graces and favour in the House of God.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you are the messiah, and in you do I place my faith. May your name be praised in my life, now and always. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).