O Key of David and Scepter of the House of Israel; you open and no man closes; you close and no man opens. Come, and deliver from the chains of prison those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Isaiah 22:22 we read, “I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder. When he opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open.”
The Lord Jesus, our Advent King, has offered himself as the door that no one can close. Through him we walk in the darkness of Advent into the glory of Christmas. Through Christ, the Father’s open door we cross over to a new life filled with the bright glory of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Revelation 3:7 we hear the good news, “To the presiding spirit of the church in Philadelphia write this: ‘The holy One, the true, who wields David’s key, who opens and no one can close, who closes and no one can open’”.
Christ is also the key of David. He is the only key that enables us to pass through the gates of our heavenly home. With this key we have the power to pass from darkness into light, from sadness into joy, from sin into holiness. Such is the life of those who strive to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.
Isaiah 42:6-7 reveals to us that our gift of grace and glory is not just for ourselves, “I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon those who live in darkness”.
We are transformed so that we can become those who lead others who are blind. We are summoned to share in the messianic mission of the Christ bringing prisoners our of confinement and releasing those who live in darkness.
The key and scepter are traditional symbols of kingly power and authority. Christ, the anointed one, is the heir of David and possessor of the kingdom. Jesus himself also made use of this symbol, showing the prophetic relationship of the earthly kingdom of David to the kingdom of God. All power and authority was given to him after the resurrection, and he entrusted this power to “bind and to loose” to Peter and the ministers of his church. In the closing petition we look to Jesus to unlock the fetters of sin that keep us tightly chained. It is he who frees us from our captivity. We recall the deliverance proclaimed by the psalmist of old: “they dwelt in darkness and gloom, bondsmen in want and in chains, and he led them forth from darkness and gloom and broke their bonds asunder” (Psalm 107: 10, 14).
(Quoted and adapted from Jeanne Kun)
Isaiah 9:6 continues to sharpen our Advent dreaming,
“For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.”
The only sovereign is this child whom we celebrate at Christmas. His power transforms our weakness into strength. In Christ we can accomplish the vows we dared to profess in our monastic consecration.
O Clavis
Even in the darkness where I sit
And huddle in the midst of misery
I can remember freedom, but forget
That every lock must answer to a key
That each dark clasp, sharp and intricate,
Must find a counter-clasp to meet its guard.
Particular, exact and intimate,
The clutch and catch that meshes with its ward.
I cry out for the key I threw away
That turned and over turned with certain touch
And with the lovely lifting of a latch
Opened my darkness to the light of day.
O come again, come quickly, set me free
http://www.umilta.net/sophia.html