OUR SUNDAY’S IN AUGUST

We will often say, “keep the faith” as we part from a friend.  I often respond, “don’t keep the faith – pass it on!”  Share it!

With the birth of our nation, many things European were discarded.  One of those things that slipped out of use was “heraldry”, the use of “coat of arms” for families.  Catholics might be a little more familiar because bishops have their own “coat of arms”.

The recent visit by Pope Benedict XVI brought visibility to the papal coat of arms.  It is recognizable by what we call the “crossed keys”.  What are the keys?  The answer can be found in the person of Shebna in the passage from Isaiah (22:19-23 – scheduled for Sunday reading on August 24, 2008).  Shebna was the secretary  to King Hezekiah of Israel. He acted as steward for the King.  As a head servant, the master of the house would entrust to the steward the responsibilities of running the household.  In order to do this, the steward needed keys – these keys became the symbol of authority.

Jesus gives the “keys to the kingdom of heaven to Peter”.  Jesus has made Peter the steward of the kingdom.  To him had been given great responsibility, but he is neither owner or master.  He will exercise some of the authority of the Master, but he will never be the Master, so Jesus explains what authority does come with those keys.

The power to bind and to loose – Peter was given the authority to forgive sins.  He is given the authority to act in the Master’s name.  Thus, the Papal Coat of Arms bears the crossed keys, the keys of Peter.  In a color rendering of that Papal Coat of Arms, one key is silver, the other gold.  The silver represents the power of “binding” and the gold “loosing”.  Jesus spoke with the authority of the Father – the apostles speak with the authority of Jesus as His stewards, with Peter as Chief Steward.

Jesus gave the Gospel to all of us.  We might say He entrusted it to us.  Although we may not have “the keys” as does the Pope and through him the bishops, we are still entrusted with the Gospel.  It is our mission to “pass it on”.  We all have a share of the stewardship of the Word of God, but we must remember that it is not our Word, it is God’s.  Pass it on!

The most rev. john p. Walzer, D.D.