Keep your O! O Key of David.

“O Key of David, and regal scepter of the house of Israel; when you open no one closes, and when you close no one opens. Come, Lord, and lead forth from prison all captives who are sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.” —Magnificat antiphon for December 20

The Lord opens and closes doors! As the Key of David he is not one who excludes people. He does not shut them out from the joy and love found in his Father’s Kingdom.

The prime minister in Isaiah 22 gives us insight to this royal image of keys. The prophet says,

“I will clothe him with your robe, gird him with your sash, confer on him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts, no one will open.”

This image of keys reaches its fullest pitch in the conversation between Jesus and Peter (Matthew 16:16-19). Jesus gives the keys of the eternal Kingdom to Peter. Peter is to bind and loose, open and close. The Church built upon this solid Rock is where we find life, freed from the prison of death.

The O Antiphon suggests that Jesus is the one who sets prisoners free. Through his Cross, he is the one who releases the captives from the grip of Satan. He opens the door to eternal life. He is the key that frees the prisoner chained to sin and locks evil in its prison forever (Is. 42:7).

Come, Key from the royal house of David. Do not delay!

For your meditation this day. From the monks of Saint John’s Abbey: