Memory Lapse: What Are the Keys For?

 

            I’m guessing it’s a toss-up which I’ve lost more frequently in my lifetime: my wallet or the car keys. I never lose them for long, but it’s an endless source of frustration.

 

            Misplacing things becomes more of a concern as one grows older. Having experienced the shock of receiving my first senior citizen discount last week, I have a new perspective on the matter of forgetfulness. I understand that as we get to a certain age, when we misplace the car keys, we start thinking about memory loss and what it means for the future. We can’t help but test ourselves for early signs that we’re losing it.

 

            For the most part, there is no cause for concern. As doctors explain it, “If you forget where you put the car keys, that’s nothing to worry about. If you forget what the car keys are for, then you’ve got a problem.”

 

            I’m going to humbly suggest that the church has had a serious memory lapse when it comes to the keys of the kingdom of heaven, spoken about in our gospel reading for today. Most of us have no idea what those keys are for.

 

            I’m an ecumenical person, for the most part. I appreciate that there’s room for many perspectives under the banner of heaven. It was a thrill for me to preach at the Catholic church on Good Friday, and I think we Christians need to do a better job of emphasizing our similarities rather than our differences.

 

            But we do have differences, and some of those are too significant to pretend they don’t exist. Few verses in the Bible have created such a bitter split in Christianity as the Matthew 16 passage on the keys of the kingdom.

 

            First, a little background on that passage. The conversation takes place in Caesarea Philippi, in the far north of Judea, in what is known today as the Golan Heights.

This happens to be one of the rockiest places of the region. Caesarea Philippi is located at the base of a mountain that rises up 8,000 feet above the plain. And just outside the city is a famous spring, the headwaters of the Jordan River, that bubbles out of a massive rock formation.

 

            In this setting, Jesus asks the disciples what people are saying about him; he gets a variety of answers. Then he asks, “But who do you say that I am?”

            Simon answers, “You are the Messiah.”

 

            Jesus says this answer is a sign that Simon has been blessed.

 

            Inspired, perhaps, by the magnificent rock formations all him, Jesus gives his disciple Simon the nickname “Peter,” which means rock.

            “You are Peter, the Rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

            The question is: what did Jesus just give Peter, besides a new name? What are the keys of the kingdom?

 

            The only thing that scholars of all denominations agree on is that keys were a symbol of authority in that culture. Sort of like stars on a general’s uniform. So it appears at the very least, that Peter is being given the authority to act in Christ’s name, as an agent of God, who is in the process of drawing believers together into a group known as the church.

 

            That’s the easy part. The fur begins to fly with these two questions: 1) Is it only Peter who gets the keys? 2) What, if anything, do the keys actually do?

 

            It may well be that you’ve never given the keys of the kingdom much thought, if you’ve even heard of them at all. But those two little questions have led to widespread persecution, brutal wars, millions of deaths, and enormous divisions in the church that show no signs of healing soon. So it’s worth looking at what’s going on here.

 

            The first question is at the heart of the tragic divide between Roman Catholics and Protestants. The Catholic church teaches that since there is no other specific mention of Jesus giving the keys of the kingdom to anyone else, that means they were given only to Peter and no one else. It teaches that his spiritual successors, which it has determined to be the bishops of Rome, inherit these keys. That is the basis for the tremendous power of the office of bishop of Rome, who is more commonly referred to as the pope.

 

            Protestants point out that in Matthew 16:19, Jesus gives away the keys of the kingdom with these words, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” They note that, two chapters after saying this to Peter, Jesus says to all his disciples: “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” He gives to all of them, what he had just given to Peter.

 

            This interpretation is one of several reasons why Protestants do not acknowledge the authority of the pope.

 

            The split in Christianity turns into a free-for-all demolition derby when we talk about what do the keys of the kingdom actually do. And it doesn’t help that we’re dealing with a mixed metaphor: you are the rock to whom I give the keys?

 

            We can get at this issue by thinking about what keys are used for in our world. I can think of at least five uses.

           

1. Keys are used to gain or deny access to a restricted area.

2. Keys give the answers, such as an answer key to a test. 

3. Keys identify what symbols mean, such as on a map.

4. Keys are tools for communicating, for example, the keys on a word processor produce readable documents. Piano keys produce music.

5. Keys give access to power, for example, the ignition key that starts the engine.

 

            The most common view today of the keys of the kingdom is that they are used to open and close doors.

 

            Support for this stance comes from Isaiah 22, which reads, “I will call my servant Eliakim. I will commit your authority to his hand. I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.”

 

            From this, one could conclude that the keys of the kingdom are to gain access and to restrict access to a privileged or private place. This is where the folk image of St. Peter standing at the pearly gates of heaven comes from. Peter has the keys to heaven; he can open the gate for you and let you in, or he can lock you out.

            This view appeals to people who believe that Christianity is about gatekeeping. About setting up and enforcing rules to restrict access. About making sure only the right people get in. This view focuses on the law, on patrolling the straight and narrow path to heaven.

 

            There are two problems with this view, from a Biblical standpoint. If the keys of the kingdom were about making sure only the righteous got in, they would be worthless. You may as well throw them away. Because Romans tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. No one is perfect. Matthew makes abundantly clear that Peter is not perfect. He does not deserve access. The straight and narrow path is so narrow it makes the balance beam that Shawn Johnson prances on look like a parking lot. That just isn’t a test that anyone passes.

 

            Second, the book of Revelation gives a completely opposite picture of heaven. In Revelation, heaven is vividly described as a place where the gates are always wide open. There are no locks. No keys. Access is not the issue.

 

            2. Another common understanding of keys of the kingdom relate to definitions  #2 & 3. The keys of the kingdom give the answers to the test, or identify what the symbols mean.

            Support for this view comes from the same Isaiah passage used above:  I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.”

            The interpretation of that is that the person who has the keys of the kingdom knows all the answers and can interpret all the symbols. Whoever has been given the keys of the kingdom are the ones who know all the answers and can interpret all the symbols.

            This is the stance of authoritarian churches: the church leadership can’t be wrong. They have the keys, the answers.

 

            But there are Biblical problems with that, starting with the five verses before that Isaiah quote.

            Before giving Eliakim the keys to the kingdom, the passage makes clear what the Lord thinks of officials who put themselves above others. In one of the most colorful images of the whole Bible, the Lord says to those who presumed to be superior to others:

            The Lord is about to hurl you away violently. He will seize firm hold on you, whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land.  

 

            The Biblical model of leadership starts with humility. With servanthood. When humility is lacking in the Bible, trouble follows. Every time. All you need to do is look at the history of those in power in any denomination, ours included, to be skeptical that there are people with a special key that gives them all the answers.

 

            I am going to make the case that the final two purposes of keys work a lot better in interpreting what Matthew 16 says. Keys make power available. And one of those powers is the power to communicate.  .

 

            Now, of course, Jesus did not have automobile ignitions and word processing keyboards in mind when he spoke of the keys of the kingdom. But what he appears to be talking about is access to power. He says, “On you I will build my church, and I’m going to give you the power to do it. A very specific power that you cannot get at without the key. What might that power be?

 

            In John 20:23, the resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Does that sound familiar?

 

            Receive the keys of the kingdom; whatever you loose, will be loosed.

            Receive the Holy Spirit; whatever you forgive will be forgiven.

 

            Read those side by side and it’s clear that the keys of the kingdom = access to the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

            For more evidence, check out Acts 1. There, just as in Matthew 16 and John 20, Jesus promises to hook up the disciples with the keys to a powerful force. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” he says.

 

            What power does the Holy Spirit give? The one specifically mentioned in John 20 is the power to forgive sins. We will see in the coming weeks just how awesome a power that is.

 

            In Acts 1, the power to which the keys of the kingdom connect us is the power to communicate. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” You will receive power to communicate my message. In our time, we can liken that power to a keyboard, through which we communicate with others.

 

            This approach makes sense when you consider the context in which Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom. He had just asked the crucial question, the one that I ask all confirmation students as they finish their studies: Who do you say that I am?”

 

            Peter’s answer: “You are the Messiah.” The one who saves; who brings life.”

 

            Jesus says, “Blessed are you because the Spirit has revealed this to you.” He goes on to say that you will receive the keys of the kingdom, which will give you access to more of the Spirit’s power.

            What does that power do? It allows you to forgive. It allows you to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

 

            Based on all these Scripture readings, Martin Luther defined the keys of the kingdom as this: the power that Christ has given his church to preach the word, to administer the sacraments, and to retain and forgive sins. Change that to access to the power, and I think he was on to something.

 

            Remember what it was like, or for some of you younger folks, imagine what it will be like, when your dad or mom first hands you the keys to the family car? What a proud feeling, a mix of responsibility and thrill and joy when all that power is made available to you? All that power at your command.

 

            God holds out to us the keys of the kingdom, the keys to a brand new life. All that power of the Holy Spirit is available to us, and we can do some awesome things with it.

           

            Like beginning drivers, the church has gotten itself into trouble with those keys. We’ve gone into the ditch, hit trees, and caused numerous pileups. After 2000 years of practice, maybe we can learn to stay on the road. Maybe we can remember what the keys are for: to access the power to tell what we have seen, to accept God’s invitation to meet regularly here in this place, and to forgive.

           

            God is going to build a church. How? Through us. Through the power to share what God has done for us, and through the power to forgive.

            That’s a lot of horses under the hood. God’s giving us the keys to that power. Enjoy the ride.