December 20, 2024
The Great ``O'' Antiphons -- Part 4
Isaiah 22:22
12/20/2024
22 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.
(ESV)
O Key of David and scepter of the house of
Israel, You open and no one can close, You
close and no one can | open:*
Come and rescue the prisoners who are in
darkness and the shad- | ow of death.
The great ``O'' Antiphon for the twentieth of December comes
from Isaiah, the twenty-second chapter. ``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.'' Saint
John also uses this title in Revelations: ``And to the angel of
the church in Philadelphia write: `The words of the holy one, the
true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will
shut, who shuts and no one opens.'''[1]
This name of Jesus, the Key of David, reminds us of the
Office of the Ministry which our Lord gave to the Church. Jesus
told the disciples: ``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.''[2]
Our Lord has unlocked the kingdom of heaven for all who trust in
Him, giving them the complete forgiveness of their
transgressions.
May our Lord grant us hope, knowing we soon will be
delivered from the chains of our sin. Amen.
____________________
1. Revelation 3:7 (ESV)
2. Matthew 16:19 (ESV)